La Belle Chanceuse et la Bête Noire
by TwinklingCupcake
Summary: A young man is cursed to be a monster, for reasons he can't understand. A young maiden with amazing luck has dreams of a mansion and someone in desperate need of help. Add two fairies, one wicked sorcerer, and you've got a Miraculous twist on a familiar tale. (AU based on Beauty and the Beast)
1. La Bête Noir

_Once upon a time, in a far-away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle..._

Adrien Agreste was not a prince by blood, or title. His family was noble and wealthy, but not enough to be in a position of high power or prestige. Despite this, the servants still affectionately referred to him as "prince," if at least for his kindness, honor, and appearance.

And true, he would object to this, but he knew it was all in good fun. He wasn't like his father, after all, he _did_ have a sense of humor.

He could not remember a time when his life wasn't bright or shining. He'd always had whatever his heart desired, made fast friends with the children of the staff, and though he didn't exactly _like_ studies, he still excelled in that subject as well. His father was distant, true, but his mother (who more than made up for it) assured him since he was small that it was because he had some...extra duties to tend to. It was nothing personal, nor did it mean he didn't love his family. And on the rare day when his father could leave business behind to see his son, he proved her right.

Words of encouragement, fatherly embraces were rare, but no less genuine. Adrien treasured every one of them.

He never had the chance to learn just what his father's extra duties _were,_ exactly, although...

When he was ten years old, he stumbled upon his father speaking to a foreign man one afternoon. The two men had been speaking in hushed voices, his father's face was a heavy mask of concern, but both fell silent when they noticed the young boy. Adrien only had a chance to see a black box being held between the two men before his father collected himself and told him to go back to his room. _Now._

Both the box and his father's troubled expression weighed heavily on his mind, but he did not know how to broach the subject. And the foreign man wasn't seen at all after that. Adrien watched the door, but he did not appear, nor did any of the servants know a visitor had even come. It was as if he'd never been there at all.

Mere days afterward, a terrible sickness hit the mansion.

...and nowhere else.

People who had been the picture of health one day would be so weak and feverish they couldn't even leave their bed the next. And then in the days following... Well, they preferred not to think about it too long, and try instead to focus on saving who they still could. Every day the mansion got a little quieter, felt much emptier. All at once, the brightness of their lives had vanished.

When Adrien's mother was stricken with it, the physician advised that Adrien and the other children be sent away, for their own health and safety. Thus the boy found himself being helped into a carriage bound for the next town, with a small handful of others his own age – the children and younger siblings of some of the other staff.

"It will only be for a few weeks," his father promised. "At the most. Until we're sure this has passed and it is safe for you to return. You'll be staying in the summer mansion; it's further away from the pollution of the city, you'll be safer there." He clasped his son's hand briefly, and then the carriages were off.

He hadn't known at the time, but that would be the last time Adrien saw either his father, or his home.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances of their leaving, he and some of his friends, particularly Nino, the only son of one of his father's favorite musicians, tried to make the best of their new surroundings. The summer mansion was smaller, so it did not feel quite as empty despite the smaller group living there. It was surrounded by a thick forest that provided cool shade and allowed dappled sunlight to decorate the lawns. One of the other boys found a river where they tried fishing or wading. The tutors were all still in the winter mansion, thus no one had lessons to attend. In spite of the direness of their situation, the group almost felt like they were on a vacation.

Adrien didn't even seem to mind the lack of news from his family. They had only been out here for a week, and there might not be much to report.

Two weeks after he left home, everything changed, very suddenly.

Late one night, when Adrien was supposed to be asleep, there was a heavy knocking at the door, one that seemed to reverberate in his bones. It made him uneasy, but he couldn't _not_ answer it. He reasoned everyone else must be asleep because of the late hour, and since he was awake he might as well be the one to answer. So he did.

The visitor was tall and imposing, and Adrien couldn't help feel a bit frightened at the sight of him. Maybe it was his dark clothes, or the way he smiled with too many teeth. It might have been meant to look kind, _might,_ but something about it was off. He wasn't sure just what, at first, but then he realized.

There was an air of magic around the visitor.

"Can I help you?" he asked, willing himself to sound braver, more grown-up.

"You are an Agreste, are you not?" the visitor asked, the fingers of his left hand tapping on his walking stick.

"Yes."

"Then perhaps you _can_ help me. You see, your family is in possession of a certain...item of mine. It is of great magic and power, and I am here to take it back."

Adrien did not know of any such item, especially one that would be in his family's possession, and said as much.

The man only chuckled darkly. "Do not play the fool with me. I _know_ your family has it, and it would behoove you to hand it over to me _immediately._ I am not afraid to take drastic measures." Those last words came in a terrible hiss.

"We don't!" Adrien protested, voice raised in desperation, annoyance, and a bit of fear. "Even if we had something that belonged to you, I wouldn't have it, my-"

"I have already seen to your parents." There was an undertone of _something_ when he spoke those words that made Adrien's blood run cold. "I searched thoroughly. It wasn't there."

Adrien could only stare, the man's words rolling around in his head. _"I have already seen to your parents."_ It probably shouldn't have been so terrible-sounding, but it was. Things began to click together in his mind; the aura of magic, the sickness, the lack of letters, he'd seen his parents... "What did you do to my parents?" he asked, his voice only wavering slightly.

" _The ring, young Agreste."_

" _What did you do?!"_

He felt something shift in the air. The visitor had a horrible expression of rage, the smile gone but still all teeth. "So you won't cooperate...Well, boy, I have my methods to make _sure_ you do as I ask." The staff lifted, pointed straight at him _._ "Creating that sickness might have drained most of my current power, but I can do _this_ much at least. And," he added, that cruel smile back. "This might be more entertaining."

All at once Adrien felt something shift. He felt heavier, unbalanced, and he pitched forward to the floor. The child cried out, but it sounded more like a yowl than anything else. He could feel muscles changing, bones shifting or elongating, his skin felt horribly itchy and hot. When he opened his eyes, he found he could see far better than he had a minute ago – but it was still dark, how could that be? He looked up at the stranger, lifted a hand – paw – towards him pleadingly-

The man just watched him. "Will you return my property, or do you want to be like this for longer?"

"I don't-!" Adrien began. He stopped, not at the sound of his voice – mercifully, that had mostly gone unchanged – but at how foreign it felt to move his mouth now. And how, when he moved his tongue to pronounce the words, it brushed against sharper teeth.

"Very well, then. Stay this way until you're ready to talk. Oh, don't worry, I won't just be sitting idly by, doing nothing," the man said. "I'm sure your family has hidden it somewhere, so I will be looking for it...Just know that you will make things so much easier for yourself and your friends if you confess first."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Adrien pleaded. " _I don't know anything!"_

"Whenever you're ready to give up the charade, my boy. I'm patient." There was a heavy sound of multiple, tiny wings flapping, and the man vanished in a cloud of butterflies. With him no longer blocking the open door, a rectangle of moonlight was able to stretch into the room and fall upon the monster left behind.

Adrien Agreste did the one thing one _could_ do when they were ten years old and just realized they had lost their family and had been transfigured for reasons they didn't understand.

He curled into a black ball and cried.

In the doorway, two small creatures hovered, looks of regret on their faces. They'd been too late.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So obviously, I'm not the first person in the fandom to get this idea. But I did want to try my own spin on it! This will be taking some elements from the Disney movie, but it's not going to be a straight copy-paste of the Disney script with the names swapped out, I can promise you that. I'll be adding my own spins on things as well.

And yeah, currently at this point it _really_ looks like Hawkmoth is Gabriel, but hey, this is an AU. You can get away with a lot in AU. You could make an AU where Chat Noir is pink, and nobody can say boo about it because it's AU!  
Disclaimer: I will not be making Chat Noir pink.


	2. La Belle

_The path was familiar and strange at the same time._

 _She came closer, holding her cloak tighter around herself to ward of the night chill. Dimly she felt that she shouldn't even be out here at this time of night, not when wolves and bandits might be out, but the gates that she knew were behind her without her even looking would keep her safe._

 _The mansion ahead of her gave her mixed feelings. It was huge, looming high over her like a giant. With the moon at its back, she couldn't make out its coloring, so it seemed to be as dark as the woods at her back. The wind that kicked up suddenly, billowing her cloak and skirts, did not help matters, especially when it was accompanied by a low, long moaning sound._

 _And yet..._

 _There was warm light shining in some of the windows, the ones that would be on the first and second floors. As if promising that, should she decided to go in, she would not have to travel in the dark for much longer. The mansion wasn't trying to look intimidating, it just happened to do that by accident._

" _-lp me!"_

 _Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't heard anything, yet someone had clearly spoken. The air around her grew thick as she sensed rather than heard someone speak again, but she couldn't make out their words or even describe their voice. She sensed panic, however, terrible panic as the voice seemed to grow more frenzied. Desperate – and strangely enough, a little angry – she ran the rest of the way towards the door, her cloak flapping behind her._

 _But it wasn't her cloak she was hearing, it was a bird – no, it was a swarm of flapping creatures, coming so quickly she hadn't even seen them until too late. They were everywhere, batting her hair, obscuring her vision, drowning out the voice and she wasn't going to reach them in time, she wasn't-_

 **DONG! DONG! DONG!**

Marinette sat upright in her bed, blankets flying around her from the sudden movement. She blinked, bringing one hand up to block the sunlight that came through the window and landed across her bed. If the church bells hadn't woken her just then, she thought, the sun landing on her face would have within a few minutes.

With a loud groan, she fell backwards again, head hitting the pillow. She'd just take a few minutes before getting up for real. Just to calm down, get her heart to stop racing so badly. She wasn't facing a mansion, it wasn't night, and there was no swarm of bugs - _Butterflies!_ she finally realized – threatening her. She was safe in her room, in her comfy bed.

And she might have stayed in that comfy bed for longer, had there not been a frantic knocking on her bedroom door just then. "Miss Marinette! Miss Marinette, are you awake?"

"I'm up," she groaned, seeing no sense in lying. She sat up again, throwing the blankets back as she did so, and crossed the room to get the door. She opened and came face-to-face with one of the other house servants.

Yes, _house,_ not mansion and not manor, no matter _how_ many times "the young miss" tried to claim otherwise.

"Yes, Sabrina?" Marinette yawned behind her hand.

"I'm really sorry to wake you so early." And the redhead did look genuinely apologetic, clasping her hands at waist-level. "But the young miss needs you!"

"What? _Now?_ So early?" Marinette gaped, stunned right out of her tiredness.

Sabrina nodded, brows lowering fretfully. "She's saying she needs a new dress and she can't be seen in anything she has right now."

Marinette resisted the urge to groan. Of course Chloè would be doing something like this, and this early in the day. Of _course._ Did she do it on purpose? "Did you tell her it takes _time_ to make a new dress from scratch?"

"I tried to," confessed the poor girl, taking her by surprise. "She didn't like that." She tucked a lock of red hair behind a reddened and swelling ear, wincing as she did so. "I'm _really_ sorry to bother you, and I know you're busy, but-"

"I know, I know," Marinette mumbled, closing her eyes and pressing the heels of her palms to them. If Chloè didn't get her way, then word would get to her father, and if word got to her father... Well, he may not have been as rich as he used to be, but they were all still under his employ, and he certainly had power over _them._

Not to mention the yelling, threats, and occasional airborne hairbrush everyone risked if she was confined in one space. Getting her another dress to wear would at least get her out of the house and out of everyone's hair.

She looked back up, a wry grin on her face. "Do you think she'd notice if I just altered a preexisting one? If I try to make a brand-new one, we'll be here for days."

Sabrina's eyes lit up. "That might work." True, it was sort of like lying, but it was better than the alternative.

"Alright, give me a few moments and I'll be right back out." Marinette quickly closed the door and began to get dressed. Her nightgown was discarded at the end of her bed, and she pulled on her simple red dress, one of the few she had left.

Six months ago, she'd lived in Paris, in a larger home than this. True, it'd been the servants' quarters but they were still large and grander than the cellar she'd converted into a bedroom. Her clothes might have been simpler than Chloè's, or any other high-class lady's, but they were still fashionable, and she'd certainly had more than one. Then something had happened to the family's finances – she wasn't sure what the full story was; some whispered about debts suddenly being called in, the cook claimed a story of gambling, and one of the maids suggested heavy bribes – and within a week, they were bound for the considerably-smaller Molyneaux.

Most of the servants had to be let go, or left of their own accord, but Chloè's father insisted on keeping a small number of them. His precious daughter hadn't known a life without someone to wait upon her, he'd said, and he wasn't about to let a little "downsizing" deprive her of that.

Marinette, one of Chloè's personal dressmakers, had been one of them.

And now she was her _only_ dressmaker.

She pulled her hair into two ponytails, tied a red bandanna over her hair to keep it out of her eyes, and then grabbed a few coins saved from when she'd sold most of her belongings. This would cover the cost of a simple dress, then it would just be a matter of adding or taking away fabric to make it look unique. And luckily for her, she had plenty of _that_ in supply.

She could get away with it without anyone knowing the difference; she wasn't kept with the family for nothing.

"I truly appreciate you doing this, Marinette," said Sabrina. They both winced as an angry shout came from upstairs and there was the unmistakable _thud_ as another hairbrush smacked the wall. "We all do."

"It's no trouble," Marinette half-lied. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes at the most. Get some ice on that ear!" she called as she jogged down the hall.

* * *

The sunshine and growing activity in the streets did quick wonders for her attitude. It was hard to stay irritated when so many people were greeting her so cheerfully.

"Morning, Marinette!"

"Morning, madame!"

"Marinette, _bonjour!_ You're out early!"

"Duty calls, Max!" Marinette waved as she walked down the roads, making a beeline for the tailor. Surely he'd have something pre-made, something no one picked up or canceled on.

"Marinette, here already?" called the baker from his window. "We haven't gotten the croissants out yet-"

"No, not here for that yet! Later!" she laughed. "Save me some!"

In no time, she reached the tailor's shop, the bell above the door jangling as she pushed her way inside. That was one of the benefits to living in Molyneaux, it took much shorter time to run errands now.

"Marinette! Fancy seeing you here." The tailor blinked as he looked up from a pair of pants he was hemming. "I thought you did your own clothes?"

"Not here for me, sir," Marinette said, setting her basket on the counter top. Having gained his interest, she went on: "Chloè's having another one of her tantrums, and _apparently_ none of her clothes are fit for her to be seen in today. She's asking for a new dress, but to make a new one altogether-"

The tailor raised his eyebrows and lowered his glasses down his nose, peering at her over the tops of the rims. He didn't say anything, just silently stared at Marinette until she shifted awkwardly.

"Welllll, what she doesn't know won't hurt her?"

"Hmmm, let me see what I can do...You know it's poor business for me, having my own work be altered beyond a mere fitting." He retreated into a back room, and raised his voice a bit so Marinette could still hear him. "But if it's for the Bourgeois girl, and so long as it doesn't happen again-"

"It won't, I promise!" Marinette didn't relax yet, though. He was still in the back room, rummaging around, and if he didn't have anything that she could work with...Well, she'd have to think of something else.

His searching did give her some time to reflect on that dream, at least. Marinette leaned against the counter, hands on the handle of her basket with her chin resting atop them. Butterflies...the butterflies had been new.

Ever since she'd arrived in Molyneaux, she'd been having a recurring series of dreams. They didn't happen _every_ night, nothing like that. But they happened frequently enough.

They always started the same: she stood on a smooth stone walkway leading directly to a mansion in the middle of the forest. It was always dark, and the moon behind the structure offered little light. Despite the eerie picture, the moaning of the trees behind her, she didn't feel intimidated. The mansion wasn't scary, there was nothing to be frightened of no matter how it appeared.

Oftentimes, there would be a voice. She could never make out words, or place a gender to the speaker, but she knew someone was speaking to her. What feeling it gave her tended to vary; sometimes she felt her name was being called from far away, sometimes she felt they were coaxing her to come closer or inviting her in, and sometimes...

Sometimes they sounded sad – no, devastated, and she wanted nothing more than to ease their pain.

This had been the first time she'd gotten a sense of fear from them. And a swarm of butterflies at the same time! That had to mean something, right?

Suddenly there was a triumphant cry, badly startling Marinette out of her thoughts. The tailor emerged from the back, an over-sized yellow shirt in his hands. "You're in luck! The owner of this dropped it off a week ago and promised to be back the next day. But between you and me, I think he was just looking to get rid of it – he refused to pay until he came back for it." The tailor's mouth quirked into a wry smile as Marinette laughed. "I was considering just cutting it up for extra fabric but you might be able to do something with it."

Marinette peered closely at the shirt, nodding momentarily. "I can work with this. How much?" she added, reaching for the bag of coins at the bottom of her basket.

"Not a bit."

"I've got-" She blinked, suddenly realizing what the man had actually said. "What?! Sir, I can't possibly take this for-"

But he just waved her off and pulled some parchment to wrap the shirt in. "Think of it as a gift, dear. I'd be more than happy to provide you with anything you need – especially if it's for one of your masterpieces," he added with a wink, chuckling at how Marinette's cheeks pinkened.

"Well...thank you, then. Are you _sure?_ " she couldn't help ask one more time.

"Quite sure. You know," he suddenly changed the subject, deftly folding the parchment around the shirt. "Your luck might not've run out for the day. Lila goes out to the forest before sun-up and normally comes back around this time. Yesterday she was saying she'd bring back a bear!"

"A _bear?"_ Marinette's eyebrows shot up. "By _herself?_ "

"With just a few arrows, too! That's what she said."

"Does she know how big bears are? I don't think even she could down one by herself!" Marinette had never _officially_ met Lila in person, but she'd seen her around town often enough. Most of those times the girl would have a quiver of arrows slung over her back, or a dagger at her hip, unsurprising, since she was reportedly the best huntress in Molyneaux. Marinette couldn't go anywhere without hearing _some_ whisper about Lila's latest feat, and a lot of the village's meat came courtesy of her. But... "I don't believe it," she said with a shake of her head.

"Just wait and see!" the tailor laughed. "She'll be coming through any minute, bear or bear. I hope she did down one," he added in a more thoughtful tone. "It's been a while since I've had bear meat." Finished with the wrapping, he pushed it towards Marinette and smiled. "Will there be anything else for you?"

"Nah, this is it. Thanks!" Marinette slipped the parcel in her basket and moved for the door, waving over her shoulder. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, dear!"

The streets were a little livelier as Marinette stepped outside and shut the door behind her, so she had to dodge and weave among passers-by a little on her walk back. It took a little skill, as pretty much everyone she passed had to call out a 'Good morning!' or ' _Bonjour!'_ to her, and politeness dictated she greet everyone in turn. It'd been tricky at first (she blushed a little remember her first week here, when she was so distracted she nearly walked out in front of a wagon), but after six months it was second nature.

"Good morning!"

"Good day to you!"

" _Lila's back!"_

Now, Marinette might have been used to weaving among a crowd, but she was _not_ used to a sudden surge of people rushing towards her like a wave. She held her basket to her chest, shrieking in alarm as she fought to dodge too many people at once. She ended up tripping over a few ankles, smacking into bodies, and earned a kick to her heel for her trouble, but she managed to stay upright at the least. After being sure of her balance, she looked in the direction the crowd had run.

What looked like a quarter of the village stood around a huge brown lump.

Marinette's eyes narrowed before they went wide. _Noooooo..._

"Were you scared?" someone's voice rose above the excited chatter.

A loud, feminine laugh immediately followed. "Me? Not one bit! I told you a bear was no match for me – I'm stronger and cleverer than any beasts in those woods!"

A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd, alongside murmurs of agreement.

Marinette began squeezing her way through, keeping her eyes trained on the lump ahead. As she drew closer and some of the more polite people began to make room for her, she could slowly see the rest of the scene. The lump became a huge, four-legged creature, with shaggy fur and a still-wet nose. Closer and Marinette could see it was sitting atop a large wagon, and then she saw the girl standing in front of it.

Lila stood with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out just slightly. The tunic she wore was long-sleeved, but the fabric on the sleeves was snug enough so those standing closest could see her arms were toned with muscle. She took a moment to adjust the quiver on her back, smirking proudly. "And it only took one clean shot! There's gonna be bear for everyone!"

The crowd cheered, but Marinette was still too busy gaping. A bear. A _full-grown bear._ She'd really done it. She couldn't have been older than Marinette, but she'd done it.

Yeesh, thank goodness she hadn't placed a bet on this or anything.

Lila was still speaking to some of the crowd, leaning against her kill leisurely. The self-satisfied smile was still on her lips as she answered everyone in turn, smooth and quick as you please. "No, it's not a mother bear, I'm not a _monster._ Nah, didn't even take me long to track him – you know who I am? Hey, who has a request for next time? Want a stag, or..." Her smile widened. "How about some wolves?"

"Wolves?! Lila, wolves travel in _huge packs!_ Even if you shot one, the others would-"

"The packs aren't that big. And why not? Might make the forest path a little safer, you know there's been talk of-"

Marinette wasn't listening anymore. She took a quick look up, noted where the sun was in the sky, and ran for home.

If she had listened, at least for a few minutes longer, things might have gone very differently.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm pretty sure the next update won't come as fast as this one did. But I already had this chapter mostly-done when I posted the prologue, and I thought I may as well finish/upload it before I board my flight tomorrow since I'll likely be busy for the days afterward. :)

"Molyneaux" is the fanon name of the town Belle lives in in the Disney movie; it was first used by the author NeitherSparky, and it's since spread like _wildfire_. So much to the point that a lot of people mistake it for canon. I used it here because I couldn't just say "the village" over and over, and I thought this name would be good as any.

And I promise, even though Lila is a hunter in this fic, she is _not_ going to be 'the Gaston.'


	3. An Encounter

The rest of Marinette's day passed rather uneventfully. She worked as quick as she possibly could without rushing, and in due time Chloé had a new black and yellow dress with a floor-length skirt and bell sleeves, and she could _easily_ pretend she hadn't left her high-end lifestyle behind.

Chloé hadn't even thanked her properly, of course. She'd just snatched it out of Marinette's hands the instant she saw it, looked it over, and scoffed. "It'll do," she said briskly, and then slammed the door shut.

Well, that was done, at least.

Marinette had a sneaking suspicion that Chloé would do it again sooner or later, and spent the rest of her day working on another dress, just for that day. The material may not have been as expensive or exotic as either of them were used to, but the designs were stylish and similar to what the ladies of Paris wore, and that would have to be good enough.

"I don't know why she complains so much," Marinette muttered to herself one night as she settled into bed. True, the sun was only just going down, but after another long day of work, she felt she deserved the rest. "It could be far worse."

She hesitated for a moment before reaching under her pillow and pulling out her parents' latest letter. Curling on her side with her knees to her chest, she brought it close to her face so she could read it in the moonlight.

It was much like all the others they'd sent: how their shop was doing (as well as ever), how the weather was (fair, though it had rained the day before they wrote), how people still asked after her. " _Your father sometimes worries that being in a small town will make it harder to achieve your dreams. Just last night he said 'In Paris there were schools, and ladies, and anyone who is anyone could see our girl's dresses. Who can see her out there?' I told him you would find a way. You always found a way to do anything."_ Marinette took a few minutes to blink the tears from her eyes before she kept reading.

" _Don't hesitate to come home, should you ever need us. We love and miss you; the home isn't the same without you."_

After that, it was more of the usual: the I love you's that had a few gray spots marring the letters, the requests that she not let Chloé get to her, she was stronger than this, and a please write soon.

"I will," Marinette murmured, glancing at her work table, where one bottle of ink sat near a piece of paper. "I will."

* * *

 _This time she was inside the mansion. She hadn't even approached it, yet she knew she was inside. This was new._

 _Marinette looked around the hallway she'd found herself in, seeing nothing noteworthy about it. It looked like any other hallway; wallpaper, carpeting, windows with the curtains drawn..._

 _The curtains. Marinette stared at them, shoulders tense. It confused her at first; why should she care about the windows? But still-_

 _Something shifted in front of the curtains directly in front of her. Something small, not as small as a butterfly, but bigger. Like a small bird, maybe. Marinette blinked and slowly walked towards it. It hovered directly in front of the curtains. Marinette lifted a hand to touch it-_

 _-and it flitted away just before her hand could make contact, so she touched the curtains instead. As if by magic, the curtains parted instantly upon her touch, bringing moonlight into the hall and forcing her to turn away, look down the hall._

 _Then she saw it. At the end of the hall, utter terror and dismay in its green eyes, was-_

A persistent pounding on the door woke her up.

" _Marinette! Marinette, you better be awake in there!"_

Marinette scrambled out of bed and threw open the door. To her shock, Chloé herself had deigned to see her instead of Sabrina. But Marinette was too angry to be too surprised – she had the weirdest feeling she was missing something by waking up that moment. " _Yes, Miss?"_ she said, in the least-threatening tone she could muster at ten in the evening.

Chloé stood there in her bathrobe fit for a princess, feet bare and tapping on the wooden floors. She folded her arms over her chest, head tilted back in disdain. "Finally. I've been trying to wake you for ages!"

 _Five seconds, at the most,_ Marinette seethed inwardly.

"I need you to run an errand for me, and Sabrina's having some trouble or other and can't be bothered to do it. She sent me to _you_ , because she said you'd be better equipped for the job."

Unlikely to be the full story.

"A few days ago, you made me a new dress, and I much appreciate it, _but_! Just this evening as I was looking over my jewelry collection, I realized there is nothing that matches it."

Marinette stared. She couldn't possibly be-

"No wonder the ensemble felt incomplete! A lady of my upbringing shouldn't have to look such a way! So, I need you..."

What did she want Marinette to make jewelry for? She didn't have anything to make that!

"..to go to the city and bring me back a necklace. Topaz if they have it, onyx will do as well."

Marinette stared. "To the city?" she finally echoed.

Chloé snorted and shook her head, rolling her eyes heavenward. "Yes, the city. Do you think this poor place has anything befitting me?"

"Chl – Miss!" Marinette protested. "The city is _miles_ away! I have no horse, no one to lend me one on such short notice, and if I were to travel on foot, I wouldn't come back until morning!"

Chloé's smile was like poisoned honey. "Then you'll have to be quick, won't you?"

"You can't be serious!" Marinette snapped, fingers gripping her doorknob tightly. "I won't do that! That's ridiculous!"

The smile looked even more poisonous. "Then you're resigning from your position?" she asked sweetly. When Marinette froze, she went on: "Alright, but do be aware that you won't get any good recommendations from me or my family, as you would be leaving in an ill mood and right after refusing to do a task. Yes, it will be difficult to get another job that pays as well as Papa does, even if it _is_ a bit smaller than before, but I'm _sure_ you'll have no trouble, will you? Plenty of famous designers are found in small-town tailor shops, or gutters, are they?" she asked, tapping her lip with a fingertip.

Marinette gripped the doorknob tighter still, feeling her hand going numb.

Chloé just smiled.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Marinette was walking down the path cutting through the forest, a basket on one arm, a lantern in her other hand. She grumbled and snarled like an angry animal herself, kicking any stray stones on the path and sending them into the brush.

"'Lady of my standing.' You're seventeen and unmarried, not the queen!" she hissed. 'Sabrina can't be bothered to-' Yes, I'm sure she's busy trying to bring down that black eye!"

How did any of them put up with her? Why? What was possibly stopping Marinette from taking her bluff and just going back home to-

She stopped, and sighed. She knew what stopped her. She couldn't be a failure, that's what had stopped her. And in a way, Chloé was right. Even in Paris, she'd been wealthier and had a bigger name than Marinette had, it'd be her word against Marinette's.

And it was clear whose side would be taken by the public.

Marinette held her cloak tighter around herself as a sudden wind chilled her. Why the path cut through the woods, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it had been done to make travel easier for hunters, or to ensure that someone injured wouldn't have to look far for a road and subsequently help.

Those made sense, but being in the forest, in the dead of night, alone...

An owl hooted then, nearly making Marinette drop her basket. She took a few breaths to calm herself – owls were harmless. Owls were good and wise, just like the stories said.

Bushes rustled around her, making her walk faster. The owl had probably taken flight, she told herself. That was all...that was all..

" _Rrrrrrr..."_

Marinette froze again, head raised like a deer.

The bushes rustled. The owl had gone dead-silent.

" _How about some wolves?"_

Oh, God, no... _Don't tell me..._

" _They travel in huge packs!"_

Another rustling, this one louder. Another rustling, to her left. Another, from the right.

Another low growl.

" _There's been talk of..."_

Marinette slowly turned her head, trying to remember what she'd heard about encountering wild animals. But then there was another loud rustling, her eyes met two glowing gold ones...

And all rationale left her head.

She ran.

There were several furious barks, roars, loud rustlings, and they were after her.

Marinette tore through foliage, ran between trees. Sometimes her foot sank deeper into softer earth or a rabbit hole, but she didn't let it slow her down. She just kept running, not noticing or caring where she was going so long as it took her far, far away.

Wind rushed past her ears and whistled shrilly, her heart pounded hard enough for her to hear it. She was nearly deafened but she could hear the howling and snarling despite that.

She could hear them behind her, too close, much too close.

Her legs stung sharply as they were cut, as if by tiny claws. Her feet pounded horribly – something snagged her skirt, nearly halting her, and she imagined it was between the jaws of a wolf. Heart skipping a few vital beats, she ripped her skirt free and kept going.

The same sharp pains on her legs were soon felt on her arms, her face. She sensed rather than saw a tree up ahead and made to move around it – pain erupted above one of her eyes a split-second later, and she felt something warm and wet drip down the side of her face.

Her throat was raw, whether from screaming or from heavy breathing she didn't know. Had she screamed at all? She didn't even know, didn't even know if screaming would be a good idea. It could get someone to help but it could also make the wolves find her faster.

So she just kept running, ignoring the pain in her limbs, blinking red out of her vision, struggling to see in the near pitch-blackness of the forest. Her lungs burned and her legs slowly began to feel numb as adrenaline took its toll on her body. A strangled sob escaped her.

No one else was out here, she was going to die, she'd run out of steam and the wolves would find her. All that'd be seen of her later would be her basket – lost shortly into the chase – and bones if she were lucky. She'd never see her parents again, never go back to Paris, she was going to _die-_

A loud roar sounded around the forest and cut straight to Marinette's bones. It didn't last too long, just a second or two, but it was enough. Feeling like she'd stopped breathing altogether, Marinette willed herself to run even faster.

Something cried out near her.

Her foot came down on air.

And then she was falling, tumbling hard down another incline. She didn't know how long she fell or how high the hill was exactly, but one second she was falling like a child and the next she was struggling to her feet. She might've blacked out for a second, but who cared about that, she had to _go!_

Something crashed through the brush above her, and she picked herself up and ran. Her whole body was on fire, her chest was much too tight, and her vision was blurred but she had to go.

She'd gone no more than a few steps when her hands found iron – _gates!_ she dimly realized. She pulled them open with impossible ease and threw herself forward. For a second she saw a great, tall building above her, so familiar even in her impaired state.

And then she fell forward, the world going black. She heard heavy footfalls behind her, muffled voices of shock ahead of her, and then blessed silence.

* * *

Marinette didn't wake up all at once.

She had moments of awareness, but nothing to actually keep her awake. At some point, she felt herself being carried. She was barely lucid enough to realize the person had broad arms and a broad chest. _Papan?_ she thought tiredly, and then sank back into unconsciousness.

Another time she felt warmth, then nothing, Or she felt something warm, wet, and soft press against her forehead – she hissed a little at that, and suddenly felt the thing withdraw. There were hushed voices above her, the scent of lavender and some of the herbs Mama knew soothed pains... And again, nothing.

She didn't know how long she slept after that. There were no more dreams, no voices, no sensations.

Nor did she know what woke her up, if anything. She just opened her eyes.

Marinette groaned and slowly sat up, finding it hurt a _lot_ less to move now. A spot on her forehead still felt weird, a little stiff when she frowned or raised her eyebrows. She lifted a hand to touch it and winced as pain flared up, not as bad as before, but enough. Delicately, she traced her fingertips around the spot – it felt like stitches.

Had it been that bad? How did she not notice it earlier?

Slowly, so as not to make herself lightheaded, Marinette pushed herself up on the couch the rest of the way and took note of her surroundings. She was in a sitting room, that much was sure. There were some chairs and sofas arranged in a messy semi-circle, and a low table in the middle. She saw a teapot and cup of tea sitting on that table, long since cold. The colors of the room were hard to make out, she mostly just saw a bunch of grays.

And no wonder, she realized, with how dark the room was. She could see, of course, but the fire near the sitting area had gone down to little embers, and the only other light was a gray strip coming from the opposite wall.

Wait, gray light?

"Have I been here all night?" Marinette muttered, slowly swinging her legs out and standing up. Feeling no dizziness attacking, she made her way across the room to the wall.

 _Curtains._

Marinette's hand stilled above the rope. There wasn't anything flitting around in front of her this time, but these were the same curtains. And come to think of it...this must be the same mansion, right? She didn't see what the outside looked like, but why else would she wake up in a big room right after a chase through the forest? And after the dream-

At the thought of the dream, Marinette's mouth went dry and she lowered her hand away from the curtains. No, she wasn't going to do that again. Not in the waking world.

There was no sense going back to sleep, not when she was so wide-awake, so Marinette settled for taking a look around. She wouldn't go too far, just see what was outside this immediate room. And it was clearly dawn, or close to it, so anyone who worked here would be waking up soon anyway. Maybe she'd meet one of her providers, or her rescuer if she was lucky.

A rumble sounded in her ears.

And maybe they'd be willing to let her eat something, she thought, ears feeling warm.

The mansion was quiet as she picked a hallway and began walking. It was more well-lit than in the dream, but it also made eerie shadows on the wall, a second and half-finished Marinette to walk alongside her. The floorboards didn't creak as she walked, the curtains didn't rustle against each other, there wasn't any birdsong outside. It was as if this place were its own world.

"That's ridiculous," Marinette whispered, hugging herself tightly. "It's just early, that's all."

Was this how Lila felt, hunting in the forest so early? No, probably not, Marinette told herself. The forest actually made noise.

 _Fwoosh._

Marinette's head turned sharply, just in time to see a red light vanish around the corner. A candle? "Wait!" she called, making sure to keep her voice down in case...she didn't know. She lowered her arms and jogged after it, still talking. "Wait, do you work here? Can you tell me where I am? Or when breakfast is, I need-" She turned the corner and blinked, shoulders slumping.

There was nothing there.

"But..." she muttered, frowning. But something _had_ been there, she'd seen it, she'd _heard_ it-

"-don't care, just—"

"-can't be serious, we need—"

"Hello?" Marinette called softly, going further down the hall, towards the whispers. "You two, hello?"

They didn't seem to hear her, or maybe they were ignoring her. As she drew closer to one particular door, the voices seemed louder. She couldn't make out all of what they were saying, just bits and pieces.

"-can't just bring in-"

"-lost her way and was hurt! She could've-"

"I agree!" A third voice.

Marinette smiled. Three people in one room, so early in the day – going from past experiences, she might have found food, too!

 _But I don't smell anything...they probably haven't started yet. Or if not the kitchen, maybe it's servants' quarters. Either way..._

Her hand gripped the doorknob. The whispers continued, ignorant of her presence outside.

 _Either way, I've found help._

She opened the door, the light in the room spilling into the hall. "Excuse me," she said before she even looked properly. "Excuse me, could you tell-"

And then several things happened at once.

All three of the voices cried out in surprise, then one shouted at her not to look.

She registered two floating creatures, like something from her childhood picture books.

And the thing sitting on the floor directly in front of her-

Marinette's heart stopped.

Her own blue eyes locked with wide, bright green ones. The thing in the room dropped to all fours, shoulders raised, head low, ears flattened against its head. Its lips pulled back to show teeth, the mouth opened wide-

Marinette stumbled backwards til her back hit the wall, her screams echoing around the entire mansion.

* * *

 **Notes:** A funny, semi-related story. I was discussing BatB AUs with my girlfriend at the bus stop, and we got into a discussion on copy-pasting the Disney version...And then she made me laugh by saying "One reason the Beast's lines can't work with Adrien is because when the Beast gets mad and yells at Belle, she yells right back! She doesn't take his shit! And Adrien freaking Agreste _loves_ strong women, so if Beast-Adrien yelled at Belle-Marinette, she'd yell back and he'd be all 'Oh my God, my heart, I'm in love.'"

The letter is to bring in Marinette's parents somehow, because I don't like the idea of killing them off...they're too precious, and I already reached my dead parents quota with the Agreste parents anyway. ;)

And they'll come up later, so...

Originally this chapter had a scene of Marinette waking up to meet the other kids from the prologue (not kids anymore, though), buuut it made the chapter go on too long and felt like a "hi, bye" so I thought it best to cut it.


	4. A Better Encounter

The reaction was instantaneous.

Marinette screamed. The thing – huge cat, _huge cat that she was eye-level with_ – opposite her shouted something, his eyes wide open. The two floating things yelled something, one at her and the other at him. The cat shot forward and for a split-second Marinette thought it was going to eat her. Then the door slammed shut, the cat's cries fell silent, and the next thing Marinette heard was rapid footfalls coming her way.

She barely had time to register any of that before people were surrounding her.

"Oh my God!" a girl's voice cried; the speaker dropped next to her. "Oh my God, we're _so_ sorry, we had no idea you were awake! It's okay, it's okay, calm down..." she soothed, hands going to Marinette's shoulders.

A young man ran past Marinette and the girl to lay his hands on the door. "Adrien, are you okay?!" he cried. "I'm coming insi-"

" _Don't come in!"_ a panicked voice inside cried. Marinette startled again and made a move for the door. Someone else was still inside, someone was trapped with- "Please don't come in!" the voice repeated, only a little calmer. "I didn't mean to-"

" _Now_ look what you've done!" A little black blur shot _through_ the door to hover angrily in front of Marinette's face. Now that it was close enough, it almost looked like a cat, but the proportions were all wrong. It growled at her, paws on hips. "You had to go snooping, didn't you?! I knew it was a mistake letting you in here!"

"Plagg, you don't _mean_ that!" A red blur flew out too, stopping next to the cat-like thing, apparently Plagg. This one, probably a girl judging by her voice, scowled hard at him, arms folded over her chest. "It was an accident!"

"Bugs...mice..." Marinette mumbled, eyes wide and face white as a sheet. "Bug-mice..."

"Oh, for- Nino, Tikki, Plagg, you stay here! I'm getting her to the parlor where it's not so _crowded!"_ The girl holding Marinette carefully guided her to her feet, arms wrapped around her shoulders both for physical support and emotional. "C'mon, girl..."

Marinette finally got a look at who was taking her. To her relief, it was another human, rather than a bug-mouse or a misplaced jungle cat. The girl, who seemed to be her own age, was dark-skinned with beautiful dark brown hair that seemed red when they passed through the light. Marinette could see a beauty mark near one of her eyebrows. Chloé would have killed for one, she thought dimly.

What was odd, though, was her clothes. Oh, her dress was fine, it was obviously a dress, and in a nice color, but it had a lot of patches near the hem and sleeves, and the actual stitching was definitely not professional. All in all, it was like someone had tried to make a whole new dress without knowing all of the steps.

Marinette looked over her shoulder at the three left behind. The young man (his clothes were like the girl's, except with pants and a shirt instead of a dress, she noticed) was talking at the door, hands pressed flat against the wood, while the floating things phased back into the room.

As Marinette was led back to the sitting room, three more people ran towards them, two girls and a boy. All of their clothing was similar to the first two peoples'. One of the girls was carrying a teapot with her.

"What happened – we heard screaming!" the first girl said. She stood at the front of the small group, fixing her large blue eyes on Marinette and her escort. "Oh my- is she all right?"

"She's okay," her escort said before Marinette could speak. "She's not hurt, she just-"

" _You have something in your house!"_ Marinette finally cried, startling everyone. "There's a wild animal in-"

"Oh no..." the blue-eyed girl gasped quietly, hands over her mouth. "Here, here, sit down – Alya, can you bring her over to the- oh, thank you." As Marinette was eased onto the couch, the girl smiled warmly at her, as if this were perfectly normal for them. "You must be so frightened – would you like some tea?"

"No, I- Didn't you hear me?" Marinette cried, voice shrill. "There's-"

"The tea will calm you down, though!" the blue-eyed girl interrupted. Ignoring Marinette's protests, she poured a cup for her and gently pressed it into Marinette's shaking hands. Marinette could vaguely smell floral perfume on her when she drew close. Lavender, she realized. "Here, something warm will be good for you."

"It's alright," said the other blonde girl, sitting down next to Marinette. "I was scared the first time I saw him, too."

"Wh-"

"Hey, Ivan, can you go with Nino?" Alya said. "He's still in front of-"

"No, I'm right here." The young man from earlier entered the room, a tired look in his eyes. He rubbed his hand over his hair, shaking his head. "He's okay, but he doesn't wanna talk right now. Can't blame him, I-"

Marinette inhaled sharply. _"What is going on?!"_ she shouted.

Everyone paused, apparently taken aback.

Marinette kept talking, gradually speaking faster and faster. "I – I wake up here – after being chased by _wolves_ of all things! - and I sit up and you guys brought me _inside_ and I came to find you but none of you were here or anywhere else and I hear voices so I go to look and _there is a giant cat and bugmice_ but _you're_ all acting like this is perfectly normal and it's _not_ a-a-and giving me tea and-" She brought the cup to her lips, downing it in one gulp. Remarkably, it was warm but not scalding, as if whoever brewed it had anticipated it would need to be drank immediately. _"This is good tea but nothing about this is-"_

"Whoa, whoa, easy!" One of the girls – Alya, right – held her hands up and leaned back. "Just calm down...Let us explain."

Marinette nodded tensely, but she didn't relax. She kept sitting at the edge of the seat, teacup shaking slightly in her grip.

"Okay, first things, names. I'm Alya, Nino just came in, Rose is the girl who gave you tea-" The girl in question smiled and nodded her head in greeting as she refilled Marinette's cup. "And those two are Mylene, and Ivan."

"Ivan brought you inside," Mylene offered quietly.

The young man in question suddenly seemed very interested in the floor.

Marinette, who felt a _little_ better knowing their names, looked up at Alya. "Brought me inside? You mean after-"

"It was _really_ creepy," Nino interrupted, eyes wide at the memory of it. "We heard Adrien roar, and a couple of us went to the window to see what was up. He never raises his voice like that, so we figured he might be hurt, or something was wrong. But then five seconds later you just tumbled right out of the forest and fell down here! You had a _really_ bad wound on your forehead, but we were able to fix it."

Marinette unconsciously lifted a hand to the stitches above her brow. She blinked, and looked to Nino. "Adrien?" she echoed.

"Yeah, he's our...friend," Nino said awkwardly.

 _Friend?_

"He stayed just long enough to make sure you'd be okay, then went back to his room," Mylene offered, rubbing her arm. "You kept coming in and out of consciousness, I guess he was worried he'd scare you."

Ivan mumbled something under his breath, a troubled look on his face.

"He's...your friend..." Marinette mumbled. No way. No way, that was unbelievable. "And the bugmice are-"

"Oooh, don't let them hear you call them that!" Rose said, though she was laughing a little. "They're fairies!"

" _Fairies?!"_

"Oooo-kay! I think this is _still_ too much at once," Alya interrupted with a clap of her hands and a startled-deer expression. "Let's ah...let this sink in a little more for her. We can try again later, maybe. Is that okay with you, miss...uh..."

"Marinette," she said, a little startled by how readily she answered. "My name's Marinette. And uh...y-yeah, that's...fine..." she added, faltering a bit.

"Great. Great, so uh..." Alya coughed. "So! Let's let Marinette try to sleep a little more first, then try this again later in the day. Sorry we can't send you home just yet, but it's still really early and some of the animals might still be stalking around."

"N-No, I understand! I'm uh, not so eager to go just yet either," Marinette laughed sheepishly, hand drifting to her stitches again. She could still hear the snarling the wolves had made as they chased her...

After making sure, several times, that she'd be fine on her own, the group left. Mylene and Ivan left hand-in-hand, Rose poured another cup of tea before taking her own leave, and Alya and Nino vanished to who knew where.

Marinette still felt jumpy, but these people at least seemed harmless. And – And if the creature had been planning to eat her, it would have done so in the night, so she was safe. She downed the tea – roses, it tasted like roses – and settled back on the couch, still half-thinking she'd wake up to Chloé's screaming and this would turn out to be a very strange dream.

* * *

Marinette's sleep was fitful, and she barely slept more than twenty minutes at a time before waking up again.

Despite that, every bit of sleep she had was filled with similar dreams.

 _She was in the hallway again, standing in front of that door, hearing someone inside weeping. She tried to open the door to comfort them, but it first refused to open, then was blocked by a sudden swarm of butterflies._

 _Then she was outside, in a rose garden. The day was beautiful, the roses were all blooming, but she was completely alone, the feeling of doom hanging in the air._

 _Then she was walking towards the mansion from the forest, following a voice. As before, it was calling to her, asking for her help. She didn't know what she needed to do, but the voice sounded so miserable and afraid that she felt she had to at least **try.** This time she swore she recognized the voice, though she didn't know where from-_

" _ **Don't come in! Don't look!"**_

Marinette awoke with a faint gasp, realizing where she had heard it now.

* * *

She moved quietly, tensely through the mansion. While she hadn't run into any of her hosts again just yet, she could hear faint voices coming from certain locations, so they all must have remained awake. For some reason, she found herself hurrying past those hallways or doors; she told herself it was because she wanted to do this with no interruptions, or to make sure to speak to _him_ first. If she met someone else, got distracted, she feared she might lose her nerve.

Luck wasn't on her side until she went downstairs, to some sort of storage area.

And she heard voices again.

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry—"

"Adrien, it's not your fault!" This was the feminine voice. "None of this is, okay?"

A few grumbles.

"Plagg, you don't _mean_ that!" the girl's voice snapped. "It's not _her_ fault either! It was an unfortunate accident!"

"It was bad luck, is all...I think I've been having a lot of that since-"

Marinette turned a corner and spotted the speaker.

And then all three of them spotted her.

Several things happened at once. The black creature flew to her first, green eyes furious and tiny fangs bared. _"You!"_ he snapped. "Haven't you done enough?!"

The red one flew over to try and pull him away from Marinette's face. "Plagg, stop it!"

And in the background, too fast for her to see since her gaze was focused on the bugmice – _fairies_ – Adrien screamed and fell back, against a linen basket. By the time Marinette looked past the fairies to him, he'd already pulled a blanket from the pile and covered himself with it. "I'm down here, I'm sorry!" he cried. "I should have warned you!"

Marinette lifted a hand as if to push the fairies away, but they moved on their own accord. Or rather, the red one moved and forcibly pulled the black one with her. "N-No, I was looking for you!"

"I'll leave now, I'm sorry, I-" The mound under the blanket froze, as if only now registering her words. "What?"

Marinette swallowed. "I was...looking for you," she repeated. "I need to-" She stopped. How did you tell someone you were sure you'd heard them in your dream before and needed to see them?

You didn't.

So she'd have to sort of...not comment on that. Avoid that issue, but still try to reach her goal.

Marinette came a few steps closer, one hand trailing on the wall as the other formed a fist in front of her heart. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "May I see you?" she whispered.

Adrien tensed under the blanket, then shifted. Apparently he was looking away, despite not looking at her to begin with. "I don't want to scare you," he said.

"I – You won't." Plagg grumbled something in the background, but Marinette ignored him. "I mean- Urrrgh..." She groaned, pressing her fists against her eyes.

"I mean, I'm sorry."

The mound under the blanket paused, shifting again, this time towards Marinette.

Marinette just stood there, lowering her hands and looking at her feet. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I shouldn't have screamed at you. I was taken off-guard, but that's no excuse – it was _horrible_ of me-"

"Damn right..."

" _Plagg!"_

"I've never- I mean, I didn't expect- I didn't- I won't be scared of you anymore," she finally managed to say. At the soft snort behind her, she added "I mean, I'll try not...I promise, I won't scream at you anymore, I won't freak out or anything anymore! I just...I may as well know who helped me, back there. Know them properly."

The mound was quiet.

Marinette rubbed her upper arm, looking sidelong at the floor. "I'm not doing this to gawk, I promise-"

"I know," the mound finally mumbled.

Marinette fell silent, anxiously wringing her hands together. For a long while, neither of them spoke. Just as she was opening her mouth to...offer to leave? Ask again? She wasn't quite sure... _he_ spoke up instead. "I really – I _really_ don't want to frighten you..."

"I know, and you won't," Marinette repeated. Though her voice was calm, her heart was pounding. She held her breath as the mound shifted. Was he-

"Please don't scream."

"I won't."

He moved slowly, turning himself around to face her first, though the blanket was still covering him. Then the edge of the blanket slowly pulled back as a black - hand? Paw? Both? - slid out. Marinette stared despite herself. It reminded her of a cat's front paw, but the toes – no, fingers - were just a little too long, a little too slender. The paw was followed by a heavy arm that would be human were it not for the black fur all over it.

There was a pause before the blanket moved off his shoulders, and for the second time, Marinette saw his face. It was like a huge black cat's, the pointed ears pressed flat against his head, the too-big nose quivering slightly. Though his mouth was closed, Marinette could see the tips of needle-sharp fangs peeking out. It would be cute, on an actual house-cat. But on a larger creature, one that looked strong enough to bite your arm off...

Marinette quickly looked away from the teeth to focus her attention on the eyes.

They were wide with fright, with bright green sclera, but the pupils and green irises were _human_.

Marinette felt her mouth twitch slightly, but made no move aside from that. Blue eyes locked with green, she smiled nervously, and then the blanket fell to the floor.

He stood on all fours, hunched over slightly as if ready to push himself up any second. The back legs were more feline than human, and a large tail slowly swished back and forth behind him. Marinette could see a swath of torn, tattered fabric hanging off his body, as if he'd tried to dress himself but failed miserably and destroyed the clothes while he was at it.

It wasn't _too_ bad, Marinette decided, when you were actually _expecting_ it.

He stared for a few seconds, silent. Then he spoke and _oh, God, a cat's maw was opening and a human voice was coming out, that was really unnatural – focus, Marinette!_

"I really didn't mean to scare you," he said quickly, his voice trembling. As he spoke, he cringed back, muscles tensing. He looked away from her, ears flatter than ever. "I swear – I didn't know you were awake the first time, and just now I didn't think you'd even still be here, I thought it'd be alright to come out, I-"

The two flying things shot past Marinette and hovered at the creature's side, at face-level. The black one was muttering something Marinette couldn't hear, and the red one simply flew up to nuzzle against his cheek, quietly shushing him. It seemed to calm him down because he took a shaky breath and fell silent.

Marinette took the opportunity to speak. "The people who live here – your friends said you were the one who saved me." It was a statement, not a question, but it hung in the air for him to elaborate on anyway.

He swallowed, muscles visibly shifting, and nodded. "I...I smelled your fear first." He looked away then, as if admitting that made him ashamed. "And then I heard you and the wolves, and I saw them...I couldn't let you be killed so I frightened them off. Let them know this was _my_ territory. And then you fell and..." He shook his head quickly and shifted into a seated position, tail wrapping around his legs. "My friends were already awake; sometimes they stay up and leave the gates open for me. They saw you run through and they got to you before I did. They saved you, not me."

 _You still frightened the wolves off first,_ Marinette wanted to say. But what she actually said was, "You _couldn't_ let them?"

He actually looked _offended_ at that. "Of course I couldn't! I'm not a-!" he started, then winced. "...I'm a monster, but I'm not _cruel_. Wouldn't you have done something, if you saw someone chased?"

Marinette nodded. He had a point there.

"Alright!" a familiar voice snapped, and the black fairy – Plagg, was it? - swooped between them again. "You've apologized, said your piece, now you're done. Get outta here!"

"Plagg!" both the red fairy _and_ Adrien cried.

"Er – hey, that's another thing," Marinette began, leaning to the side and pushing Plagg out of the way with the palm of her hand. Ignoring his indignant mutterings (and his attempt to bite her fingers), she took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to ask this without sounding entirely too familiar. "Your friends...your friends suggested it wouldn't be a good idea for me to leave so early, because of the animals that might be here..."

Adrien nodded, conceding that.

"Well, I was wondering...maybeIcouldjustnotleave?"

The silence was so thick one could spread it on crackers.

"I- what?" Adrien finally said.

Marinette felt her ears burn. "I know I'm imposing, but I could really be of help, I think – not that you need any, haha, but I mean-"

"N-No, not that! I mean I..." Those green eyes shifted awkwardly, the shoulders rose like he was shrugging, or trying to shrink into himself. "Didn't...understand you."

Marinette ignored Plagg's laugh, and tried again. "I was thinking, I might...would it be alright for me to stay here? I won't be freeloading!" she added quickly, clapping her hands together pleadingly. "I promise – I can work in exchange for it! I'm a seamstress and dressmaker back home, did you know? I can mend everyone's clothes – they did look kinda patchy on some of them – and I know how to bake so I can help in the kitchen maybe and-"

"Okay."

"And I can do basic gardening and- Huh?" Marinette's hands lowered as she stared.

Adrien looked like he was trying not to laugh, an odd expression on such a feline face. "I said 'okay,'" he repeated, his tone matching his expression. "It'll take me a while to think of something for you, but I'm sure we'll have something, My Lady."

Marinette gaped, the title throwing her off. "I'm – ah, not a Lady," she finally said. Ignoring the suddenly-blank look on his face, she continued: "I'm just Marinette, sir."

"And I'm not a 'sir,' I'm seventeen."

Just like she was, Marinette realized.

* * *

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when there were muffled cries of panic and Marinette was returning upstairs to assure everyone she was still there, that Tikki or Plagg spoke again.

"Why'd you let her stay here?!" Plagg hissed. "Do you want her to scream at you again?"

"She promised she wouldn't...she didn't the entire time she spoke to me," Adrien said hollowly.

"And 'My Lady?!' What was _that?"_

In his defense, he really had thought she was a Lady. Her clothes had been simple in design, but the fabric was still nice and in good condition. Or it had been, before her brush with death in the forest.

Tikki hovered in front of Adrien's muzzle, a fretful look on her face. "And Adrien, really..." she sighed. "You don't really intend to make her work for room and board, do you? No one else here does that anymore!"

"Oh, she won't," Adrien assured the red fairy, causing her to blink in surprise. He looked to the stairs leading up, expression contemplative.

 _I know that's not why she wants to stay..._


	5. Conversations

Marinette was no fool. Impulsive and clumsy, sure, but no fool. She knew she needed a plan, and it took about ten seconds before she came up with a good one.

She couldn't very well just disappear off the face of the earth – that would arouse attention from the village. Her parents would be told that their daughter was missing, and they'd be terrified.

But she couldn't make trips back and forth, either. Her work wouldn't allow for it, and besides, if Chloé caught her sneaking out, she might assume the worst. Very loudly. And Marinette would be fired and sent home in disgrace.

Which left one other option that she could see.

"I do hope your father recovers quickly!"

Lying her tail off.

Mr Bourgeois stood outside Marinette's room, his expression a mask of concern as the other girl swept some of her sewing supplies into a satchel. "Illness is never something to take lightly – the smallest ailment could lead to tragedy."

"I know, sir," Marinette said, grabbing some rolls of fabric under her arms. "But Maman says Papa's going to be alright – that's what the doctor said. He just needs to wait til his fever breaks." It was a little impressive how readily the lie fell from her lips, honestly. "But they think he'll recover faster if he's not worrying about me being so far from them."

"Do you really need fabric and needles, though?" Mr Bourgeois asked.

Marinette only faltered for a second. "I don't want to go out of practice while I'm at home. You wouldn't want Chloé's favorite dressmaker to start slacking! Then where would Chloé be?"

Neither deigned to comment that Marinette was her _only_ dressmaker, right now.

"Well, do you know when you'll be back?"

"Hopefully not long," Marinette muttered.

Fortunately (unfortunately? Fortunately?) Mr Bourgeois had caught that. After a few more rounds of "I wish him a speedy recovery" and "I do hope you return, my girl is lost without your creations," he left her alone to finish her meager packing. Which suited her fine, honestly – she didn't want to keep her guide waiting.

* * *

The path Marinette took out of the village was winding, and went over a small hill. It made it easier to lose sight of the village, and made it easier on her guide...

Twenty minutes of walking the path out of the village, there was a rustling in the bushes at her side. She couldn't help jumping in alarm, even knowing what it likely was.

"It's only me. Don't be afraid." Despite the reassurance, Adrien made no move to step out of the woods. He shifted, though, so she could see two glowing green eyes, but that was all.

Marinette smiled a little, stepping off the path and into the shade of the forest. She noticed Adrien back up a few more steps, effectively hiding himself again, and sighed with her hands on her hips. "You know I'll have to look at you if I'm going to work for you," she said.

"I prefer not to think of it that way."

Marinette raised a brow. "Then what _do_ you want to think of it as?"

Adrien's voice sounded amused. "You being a _very_ busy guest?" Marinette snorted, and he said in a more serious voice, "Really, you don't have to do that. If you need shelter, we're glad to offer it free-"

"No, it's okay! It's fine, I want to." Marinette adjusted the strap of her satchel on her shoulder as she began walking deeper into the forest. The foliage at her side kept rustling, letting her know that Adrien was right beside her. She stole a glance at him – or rather, at what could be seen of him. Her brows lowered in concern. "You don't have to either, you know," she said, rubbing her arm. "Be doing this, I mean."

"Plagg and Tikki are needed back home, and there are limits to what they can and can't do. And I know the forest like the back of my hand."

 _Hand?_ Marinette couldn't help wonder.

"But the others know the forest too, right?" she asked instead. "They all live there."

"Oh," he said simply. "They haven't left the mansion in years."

Marinette halted, eyes wide. _"What?!"_ she cried.

Adrien's own steps faltered and the green lights widened before moving away. "I mean. It's – it's complicated," he said, speaking the last word slowly.

"Complicated like how?" Marinette asked, starting to walk again.

"I...I can't say, My Lady" he said. "Sorry." There was a huffing sound, as if he were sighing. "But it's not...they're not bad people, or lazy, or anything like that, I swear."

Marinette nodded slowly. "I believe you..."

She did, too. After she'd come up from the storage room, Alya had run into her, relieved she hadn't tried to leave on her own. Then, as if realizing how creepy that sounded, she added that she wasn't sure if Marinette knew the way back, it being so dark and her being so panicked when she'd fallen into their laps. And when Marinette had mentioned the new arrangement...

" _What? Are you sure?" Alya asked, frowning._

" _Sure, why not?"_

" _Well...well, I don't_ mind, _I guess. But why would you want to stay_ here _of all places?" Her frown deepened._

 _Marinette shrugged, palms up, and smiled. It wasn't much of an answer, but then again Marinette didn't have much of one herself. Not one she could say outright, anyway. "Could I have an escort to the village?" she said instead. "I know you've done so much for me already, but like you said, I really can't get back without one!"_

 _Alya sucked on her lower lip, looking sidelong at the floor. "Well, yeah, but the only ones who can do that for you are-"_

" _I'll do it," came a voice behind Marinette, making her jump and let out a short scream. Immediately afterwards, her face burned in shame, and she covered her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Sorry..." the voice – Adrien – said again, sounding so much like a kicked kitten that she only felt worse..._

The two of them walked in silence a little longer, Adrien only speaking to tell her to turn here, or watch out for that rabbit hole. The shadows shrank as the sun climbed higher into the sky, the air growing warmer. It become harder to travel, the foliage getting denser and the grass getting taller.

"Just where _are_ we?" Marinette griped at one point, avoiding a long-hanging tree branch. Dimly, she suspected it might have been what she smacked into before. "Is the forest _really_ this big or is it magic?"

Adrien laughed a little. "Maybe both?" he said, in a slightly lighter voice than she'd ever heard from him. "Mother always said fairies lived here, and they were always watching travelers. She'd tell me I had to behave myself when we were out here, or else they'd make me get lost and I'd wander around forever."

He had a _mother_? Did magical, talking creatures have parents?

Out loud, Marinette just made a "tsk" noise and ducked to avoid another branch. "I hope they're not doing that to us right now. We're not doing any harm, just walking!"

Another laugh, this one more rueful. "I don't think it's because of the fairies my mother talked about," he said. "I think..." He fell silent, in a way that made Marinette feel he was searching for the right words.

"I think – oh no."

"What?" Marinette stopped, hearing Adrien do the same.

"I...It gets really steep around this part," he explained, apologetic. "I'm really – _really –_ sorry, but I don't want you to fall, so I...I'm going to come out of the bushes, and you're going to need to hold onto me." He barely waited half a second before frantically adding "I don't have any ill intentions towards you, My Lady, I swear, I just-"

"No, it's fine!" Marinette cut him off just as hastily. She took a few cautious steps forward until she could see over some of the bushes. Adrien was right – there was a sudden steep incline just beyond them, and far below she could see the mansion. Well, that explained why she'd fallen the night before. She got a bit dizzy just looking, and backed up a few paces. "I think I'd prefer holding onto you than risking a broken neck," she muttered.

She realized too late how that might sound. But before she could apologize or anything, the bushes parted and Adrien cautiously approached her. His ears were laid back, his posture tense. Marinette felt a pang in her chest at the sight, biting her lip guiltily. She'd _really_ have to a find a way to make things right with him, wouldn't she?

But she wouldn't make things any better by hesitating.

She inhaled deeply through her nostrils, and reached for him when he stopped by her side. He was on all fours, making it easy for her to rest a hand on the scruff of his neck. The fur was softer and thicker than she'd been expecting, and it reminded her of petting cats in her childhood.

He'd probably take offense if she tried to pet him, she thought to herself with a laugh.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing." Marinette shook her head and tightened her grip on Adrien. "Just thinking."

Adrien said nothing in response to that, but instead walked forward with Marinette til they were both literally out of the woods. "It's safer for you like this, sorry. I've been climbing this for years, and I can grip with my claws, so..." He faltered a bit. "Sorry."

"I told you, it's fine. You were saying about fairies?" she suddenly reminded him. The apologies were making her a bit uncomfortable. And awkward.

"Yes, well..." He seemed to smile a little, but it was a joyless one. "I don't think Mother's fairies are responsible for the mansion – not entirely. I used to come here when I was little all the time, and nobody could ever seem to find it except my family and people who worked for us."

A talking cat creature had both a mother _and_ people in his employ? Marinette found herself staring again, this time with interest.

Adrien didn't notice, and kept speaking. "The mansion was built before I was born, so I don't know if it's true or not...but Nino told me that his mother said fairies themselves had helped with its construction, and cast an enchantment on it to keep its residents safe – she'd said the fairies made it so the only people who could ever find it would be people who lived there."

"Really?" Marinette breathed. Then she frowned, remembering the night before. "Wait. Wait, how did I find it, then?"

"Mmm, that's the other thing," Adrien admitted. "The only exceptions are fairies themselves, or those guided by a fairy. So..."

Marinette laughed and waved one hand. "I'm not a fairy, mist- Adrien."

"Hmm, then maybe a fairy led you here. There are two living with us already," he pointed out.

"Oh I doubt that too," Marinette laughed.

"Hm, then perhaps you were just lucky, My Lady."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Marinette admitted as they reached the bottom of the incline. The mansion was up ahead, the stone path just a few paces away. Looking up at the home gave Marinette an odd feeling. When she'd first arrived she was much too disoriented to see it properly, truly take it in. Now not only was she truly looking at it in the waking world for the first time, but in the _daylight,_ not the night.

It looked a lot less spooky in the day, she mused to herself. Much more lonely.

The gates opened on their own as they approached, but by this point Marinette wasn't even surprised anymore. She was starting to think that mermaids could pop out of the stream, a dragon could peer over the horizon, and animals would flock to her if she sang, and she'd still not bat an eye.

Adrien paused. "You really don't need to do anything, My Lady," he stressed again. "I've never been one to turn away-"

"Are you _trying_ to get rid of me?" Marinette asked dryly, one hand going to her hip. "And I'm _not_ a Lady. Just Marinette!"

"You carried yourself like one," Adrien said simply, tilting his head. He then looked away, eyes to the ground. "But really-"

"You're not getting rid of me. I have a job to do, and I'm not going to let you turn me away," Marinette said with an air of finality.

"...we both know you're not here to mend clothes."

Marinette blinked, then smiled sheepishly. Before she could speak, Adrien shook his head again and set forward.

"I won't ask what you really want, nor will I tell the others. Whatever it is, it can't be malicious. I can tell.

Now come on. If you're going to be so stubborn you'll refuse to leave, I might as well take you to your room."

"I get a room?"

"Did you expect me to set you up a corner in the kitchens?! My Lady, we both have more sense and class than that!"

* * *

Sure enough, once inside, Marinette was led down a hall, in the opposite direction from the one she'd found Adrien's room in. He apologized on the way for the lack of dusting, but Marinette wasn't too bothered. It'd give her a small project, she supposed.

The room was about three times the size of her small one at the Bourgeois home, the bed twice so. Marinette walked inside slowly, eyes wide as she took it in. The walls were papered a rich green, and the darker green curtains were un-drawn to reveal she had a view of the forest beyond. There was a wardrobe in the corner, shelves of books (with a layer of dust on them), a desk...

"It's not a lot but-"

"No, it's fine! I like it!" Marinette whirled around to her host, smiling in an attempt to pacify him. "This is already more than I could have expected!"

Adrien's shoulders (was that what cats had?) relaxed, and he began to speak again when-

"She really _is_ staying?!"

A black blur shot past Adrien and halted in front of Marinette's face, glowering.

"Oh, hello again," Marinette deadpanned.

Plagg crossed his small arms, glare intensifying. "Don't think this means you're off the hook, young lady," he said. "You snooped around like a thief, screamed in our boy's face...If you think you can make up for it by threading a few rags together, you-"

" _Plagg!"_ Tikki shot in just then, rounding between Marinette and Plagg protectively. Though Marinette couldn't see it, her own glare was just as powerful as her fellow's. "Plagg, that's not very nice of you! Miss Marinette is a guest now, and you're to be nice to her!"

"You expect me to be _nice_ to a-"

" _Yes."_

" _I'm starting to wonder why you-"_

" _You know perfectly well-"_

Both their voices dropped then, to a volume neither Adrien nor Marinette could hear, but they assumed it was fairy-speak or the like. In any case, it seemed the two were arguing – and Tikki apparently won, because next thing Marinette knew, Plagg was looking past Tikki and right at her. She expected him to say something, but he just hissed – much like a cat – and flew off.

"Plagg! Get back here and apologize! _Plagg!"_ Tikki turned and bowed to Marinette. "Excuse me, lovely to have you here. _Plagg, I said-!"_ And soon she was gone too.

Marinette and Adrien stood there awkwardly for a moment, both of them wondering what had just transpired. Finally, Adrien cleared his throat and backed up – to Marinette's brief alarm, rising to his hind legs. He could _do_ that?! "I'll leave you then. See you around, My L- Marinette." And then he was gone, before she could say a word.

Marinette stood there a moment longer, then exhaled deeply, the strength leaving her legs as the entire day's worth of events caught up to her. She fell to her knees, breathing deeply and dropping her satchel to the floor. "Well..." she whispered to herself, staring at the ceiling. "At least everyone else is friendly. And I know no one will look for me...or find me..."

Except a fairy, perhaps, but both fairies were right here.

She was silent a little longer, reflecting on some of the conversation she and Adrien had had, and what little she understood of the aforementioned fairies' whisper-argument.

"...I've got work to do."


	6. Barely Even Friends, Then Somebody Bends

"I'm telling you!" Plagg huffed, folding his bitty arms over his chest. "I don't trust that girl!"

"Why _not?"_ Tikki sighed in a long-suffering tone. She zipped right up to her partner, mimicking his pose and leveling him with a hard stare. "She's done nothing to make us _dis_ trust her. Honestly, the way you're acting, it's like you think she'll make off with the silverware in the dead of night!"

Plagg sighed loudly. "That's not what I mean, and you know it! I mean, I mean I don't trust her to help!"

"You know," Adrien said behind them, eyes half-lidded in mild annoyance. "I didn't agree to let her stay here _just_ to see if she could 'help.' So she doesn't need _your_ approval, Plagg."

Plagg didn't answer, just huffed again and looked away. "She screamed in your _face,"_ he muttered at last. "You didn't do a damn thing and she screamed in your face. I can't forgive that. I'll _never_ forgive that."

"Awww-"

"Tikki, _no."_

Adrien was silent for a few moments before he began to approach the fairies. Plagg continued to float with his back turned to him, pointedly looking away, but as soon as Adrien stumbled, the little fairy whirled around and zipped over to him.

He wasn't strong enough to keep him from falling back onto all fours, but he could at least be there to meet his eyes when he landed.

Tikki was right by his side when Adrien looked back up at them, all three looking apologetic.

"Hey," Plagg said. "Is it that difficult? Walking on your hind legs?"

"Sort of," Adrien admitted softly. "But I'm getting better at it."

"I don't like this," Plagg said. " _Any_ of this."

"I know...that's why you came at all, right?" Adrien said, smiling faintly. "That's why you're still here."

Plagg just grumbled something under his breath. But they all knew it was true.

* * *

 _Adrien didn't know how long exactly he spent crying on the floor. All he knew was that his entire world was ending. The world itself could end right then and there and he'd be fine with it. His throat hurt terribly, and his eyes stung, his whole body (his **changed** body) was weak from sobbing..._

" _Oh, you poor thing...Don't cry, please don't cry."_

" _Tikki, that's not going to make him stop! Hey! Hey, kid, stop crying right now! We're not going to tolerate any of that now."_

" _Plagg..."_

 _Adrien lifted his head, sniffling loudly and staring up at the two floating creatures. He blinked, hard, a few times, certain that he must be hallucinating. Or maybe the tears in his eyes were affecting his vision. Yeah, he was seeing two oddly-colored fireflies but through the tears they looked like-_

" _Oh, sh-sh-sh!" the red one suddenly gasped, flying closer to him. "Don't start all over again, please! Oh, I can't stand crying..." Her little red hands (paws? Fins?) touched his face, drying some of the tears._

 _It was her touch that made him realize these two creatures were indeed real, as real as...what he was now..._

" _Okay, really," the black one snapped just then. "If you're going to keep crying, we're going to...we're going to..." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Alright, we're not going to **leave,** kid, but we'll have to do **something.** So stop crying right now, and we'll figure this out, okay?"_

 _Adrien nodded despite himself, sniffling a little more and trying to wipe his eyes. He nearly put one eye out with a claw, and had to use the back of his hand – paw – instead. "Wh-who are you?" he whispered. His eyes widened somewhat as a thought occurred to him. "Are you fairies?!"_

 _The red one smiled at him, much like his mother used to. "You're a smart child! That's right, we're fairies! We've been here for a very long time, little one."_

" _Y-You're magical...you're magic!" Adrien gasped, sitting up a little more. His green eyes shone with excitement as he came to a realization. "You – you can help us! You can bring back my parents, you change me back, you can-!" His voice faltered, his excited smile fading as he saw the look the two fairies passed between them. "You...you **can** help, can you?" he asked in a smaller voice. _

_It was Tikki who spoke first, wringing her tiny fins in front of herself. "Adrien, sweetheart..." she began, hovering closer. "...I'm afraid that even fairies have laws. Limits to our power..."_

 _Adrien felt his heart start breaking all over again as Tikki spoke. "One thing fairies like us do **not** have the power to do is to undo another fairy's spell. That man may have been the one to decide what happened to you, but it was fairy magic he used...so we can't change you back ourselves, I'm afraid."_

" _But what about my parents?" he asked, choked. "He said he dealt with them, can't you bring them back? Fix that much?"_

 _Plagg sighed, floating down to meet Adrien's eyes. "I hate to say this, but you need to know. Their souls have moved on already."_

" _But my father just-"_

" _Your father's soul moved on two weeks ago," Tikki whispered, so quiet Adrien almost didn't hear. "Just a day after you left..."_

 _So that was it. The fairies couldn't do anything. Adrien collapsed to the floor again, beyond tears now. All he wanted was to disappear -maybe if his sadness was strong enough, it'd tear him apart, he'd like that-_

" _Hey, hey, hey! Listen, it's not – it's not entirely hopeless! We can still help **you,** you know!" Plagg cried out then, zipping over to one of Adrien's ears. "We can't **directly** undo a spell, but we can soften it! Fairies do that **all** the time! It's a loophole, y'see? We're only unable to do something **directly,** but if we add a little postscript, it's fine! We can do that much!"_

 _He looked up again, ears twitching. "H-How?"_

 _Plagg and Tikki glanced at each other, but Tikki was smiling brightly. She did a little back-flip in the air, her tiny red body glimmering suddenly. "The same way any good fairy helps – **love**!"_

" _H-Huh?"_

 _Tikki rested one of her little fins over one of Plagg's paws, both of them glowing slightly. Were they using their magic, Adrien wondered. Both fairies looked at him intently, Tikki doing all the speaking. "Adrien Agreste, you shall **not** be in this form forever! When someone meets and loves you despite your appearance, all will be as it should be again! Upon the words of love, you shall be restored!"_

 _There was an odd sort of ripple in the air at those words, a feeling like part of a weight had been lifted from the mansion._

 _A promise._

" _Until that day," Plagg added. "You have our word that we'll be at your side, offering our companionship should it be needed." He promptly made a face. "Ugh, I hate that part...I can't talk **normal** when we do this!"_

 _Through his drying tears, Adrien managed a watery smile and a small laugh. It wasn't much of one, of course, little more than a "heh," but it made Tikki smile all the same._

" _There now, you see?" she crooned, floating over and stroking one of his paws. "We'll make this right, you'll see. We'll be right here until it happens. Don't you worry."_

* * *

The two had been true to their word, of course. In the seven years that had passed since Hawk Moth had appeared, they hadn't left the mansion once. They had done what they could to make things a little more bearable – the morning after the curse was set, when Adrien woke up to the sound of his friends screaming in terror and believing he'd been killed, the fairies had been the first ones to clear things up. When they discovered they couldn't go past the gates, it was Tikki who dried Rose's tears, it was Plagg who taught Alya some choice words to scream out until all her frustration was gone.

It was both of them who hovered near Adrien as he slept, waiting for him to have his usual nightmare and wake up drenched in cold sweat. It had taken roughly a year for him to stop re-living that night every time he slept, but they had both watched over him without complaint.

They were his friends, just as they said.

So Plagg didn't grumble _too_ much when he felt Adrien nudge him with his cold, wet nose. "Thank you for worrying about me, though," the boy-turned-beast said.

"I do _not_ worry about you."

Adrien and Tikki just chuckled.

* * *

Despite her decision to stay in the mansion indefinitely, nobody really saw Marinette again until the next day. She came out of her room in mid-afternoon, startling Rose and Juleka and nearly making them drop the wash.

"Marinette!" Rose cried in horror. "Are you alright?!"

The poor girl looked a fright! Her ponytails were mussed up, her eyes had faint shadows under them, and she looked as though she'd slept in her clothes.

But Marinette had just yawned, smiled brightly, and nodded. "Just stepping out to get some tea," she said.

"I'll get it for you!" Rose offered. "Juleka and I were about to have some anyway! I'll brew the Earl Grey, it'll wake you up." She paused, a concerned expression passing over her face. "Unless you're ill? Then an herbal blend might be-"

"No, no, I'm fine," Marinette said, waving a hand dismissively. "I was just up all night sketching."

Rose and Juleka glanced at each other. "Sketching what?" Juleka asked.

Marinette showed them inside her room. Ten minutes later, the entire mansion (for what little that meant) was talking about "that odd girl who appeared from nowhere and started drawing clothing designs."

"I did hear her say she was a seamstress," Nino said to Alya that evening. "Maybe she brought work with her."

"Yeah, but those drawings were all _new,"_ Alya pointed out. A broad grin appeared on her face. "And Juleka said one of the drawings had Rose's likeness on them. Another one had Ivan. I think she's designing for _us,_ guys."

"Why would she do that?" Ivan mumbled.

Mylene said nothing, just tugged self-consciously at a fraying sleeve.

It didn't stop there. At dinnertime – which was had in the sitting room, seeing as there were no adults to enforce the 'dining room only' rule - Marinette walked right up to Ivan, stuck her hand out, and said with a smile: "So I don't think we had time to get properly introduced. My name is Marinette, and you weeeeere – Ivan, right? What do you do here?"

Ivan looked like a bear who had just had his cave stumbled upon by an explorer, but he nodded and hesitantly shook Marinette's hand. No one laughed at the way his hand completely covered her own.

They would learn later that Marinette was making a point to learn all of their names, tasks, schedules, anything she could about them, in as short a time as possible.

An odd, but welcome, girl indeed.

Marinette, meanwhile, pretended not to notice the black shape that appeared in the doorway but then hastily disappeared.

* * *

Over the next few days, Marinette developed her own schedule. She would take breakfast with everyone else in the morning, then help Mylene clean up. After discovering that Rose and Juleka liked to go to the rose gardens, she went there with them in the early afternoon. Nino soon found himself a slightly-larger audience for music practice, and sometimes Alya would look up from a book to see Marinette seated opposite her.

"She's only been here for three days!" Plagg griped as he and Adrien watched her from the window. Down below, Marinette was slowly inching her way to the edge of the garden with a heavy bucket of kitchen waste. Ivan ran from seemingly-nowhere, effortlessly lifting it out of her grasp and walking it there himself. With his increased hearing, Adrien heard Marinette exhale deeply and thank the larger boy, smiling gratefully. "Three days and she's already worked her way into their lives! She's up to no good."

"Oh, Plagg, be honest," Tikki sighed. "Do you _really_ sense ill intention from her?"

"I don't need to. I can tell these things."

"Which is another way of saying you _don't_ sense any."

Plagg grumbled.

"I like it," Adrien said softly, not tearing his eyes away from the two people below. "She's a new face, someone new for them to talk to, and she's taking the time to speak to everyone. There's no _harm_ in it."

Tikki cocked her head at Adrien. "Why don't you talk to her too?" she asked.

Adrien shifted uncomfortably.

"You're not still afraid of scaring her, are you?"

As if in answer to her question, Marinette looked up towards the window just then. Her eyes locked with Adrien's, and she lifted a hand to wave at him.

Adrien's eyes widened and he ducked down, drawing the curtains closed.

Tikki sighed, floating down to his shoulder. "You _are,"_ she said, patting him. "Adrien, you were fine a few days ago! Remember, you walked her to the mansion? She touched your scruff?"

Adrien felt his face burn, and was suddenly grateful for having fur. It meant no one could notice him blushing. "That was...that was different," he admitted. "I had no other _choice,_ there was nowhere left to hide and I had to make sure she didn't fall! It's not the same..."

Tikki sighed again. "Oh, Adrien...you mustn't be so frightened. Marinette's a good girl, and she didn't act afraid of you just _now."_

It was true, but Adrien wasn't quite willing to close the distance yet.

That evening though, he had no choice.

The past several days Marinette would take to her room after dinner, so he was usually free to roam his mansion without worrying about running into her.

But that night, he walked into the sitting room and immediately spotted Marinette on the floor by the fire, hunched over a sketchpad. Adrien's footsteps faltered and he tried to back up out of the room again – she was looking so intently at her drawing, tongue peeping out of the corner of her mouth, maybe she wouldn't notice him – but it was too late. Marinette smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said "I saw that."

Adrien froze in place. Etiquette lessons from his childhood reminded him that it'd be rude to leave right now, after she'd just acknowledged him. So he was stuck, wasn't he?

Marinette looked up from her sketching, an exasperated smile on her face. "You can come in, you know," she said. "I'm _not_ afraid of you."

So she remembered. Adrien's shoulders slumped, partly out of resignation and partly out of shame, and he trudged into the room – on two legs at first, then dropping to all fours as he reached the fireplace.

Marinette frowned and made a 'tsk'ing noise when she saw how far he still was from her. "Adrien, I'm not going to bite you. And I'm not worried about _you_ biting me either." Her expression slowly softened then, the charcoal in her hand going to the dish at her side. "You spoke with me just fine when you escorted me here, now you don't seem to want anything to do with me...Did I hurt you _that_ much when I screamed?"

"No! No, it's not that!" Adrien protested. Well, it wasn't entirely that.

"Yes, it is," he heard Plagg hiss from the doorway.

He ignored the cat-like fairy, drawing in a shuddering breath. "I just – it's been a long time since we had a guest at all," he admitted. "Since anyone else came here. It'll just..."

"Take a while to _really_ adjust?" Marinette supplied. At Adrien's surprised expression, she smiled wanly. "I know the feeling. Well, not entirely," she admitted. "But when I first moved to Molyneaux, I kept expecting to find the same people I'd always known, my first week or so there. No matter how often I told myself 'I'm fine with this, I'm used to it now,' it was always strange to wake up somewhere different." She looked at the paper again, picking up her charcoal once more. "You know...as I said before, if I'm to be here, I'm going to be looking at you. I'm going to be interacting with you.

"I don't want to rush things for you, but I'm _going_ to be here. You'll have to speak to me eventually."

"I know," Adrien admitted quietly. "I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to you being here. It's _weird,_ coming into a room and seeing someone new there."

Marinette laughed a little. "That's what Nino said, too. I told him he should get used to it soon, though."

Adrien let himself laugh a little too. After a moment, he asked "Do you like it here so far? We are pretty far from the town, and there aren't a _lot_ of us living here. You're not bored, are you?"

"Me, bored? In a _mansion,_ with a rose garden and surrounded by forest? Living under the same roof as a big, talking cat, and two fairies?! Why on _earth_ would I find that boring?" Marinette cried. "Even if I haven't seen much of you yet," she added before Adrien could voice this himself. "I'm living with people closer to my own age! You know there was only like, two other girls my age I interacted with on a _regular_ basis back home?"

Adrien's ears perked up as he settled himself at last. "Really?"

"Yup." Marinette nodded, charcoal gliding around the page. "I used to be a live-in seamstress. Most of the other people who worked for the family I did were twice my age at least. The only people my age were the girl I worked for, and her personal maid." At the last part, Marinette frowned deeply. "I didn't get to speak to the maid too much; she was always being called to do something or other for our employer. And _that_ girl was just awful. You're lucky," she added. "You have way more friends than I did."

Adrien blinked a few times. "I..." His ears drooped, tail curling around himself as he remembered _why_ he lived with his friends. "I don't know about that..."

The sound of charcoal on paper stopped. Marinette looked up. "Did...did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"I...I'd rather not talk about it," Adrien admitted.

"But did I say something wrong? Did I offend you? I'm so sorry, I-"

He shook his head. "No. No, it's fine, it's – you couldn't have – it's fine."

There was relative silence between them then, just the sound of fire crackling in the grate. Adrien didn't meet Marinette's eyes; he stared at the floor instead. So when he felt a small, warm hand on his head, he jumped in alarm, tail puffing up.

Marinette didn't laugh at this, though. Instead, she was looking at him warmly, an apologetic smile on her face. "You don't have to talk about it," she said. "But I do want to know more about you. So please...don't hide from me anymore? Please?"

Green stared into blue, stunned confusion into gentle warmth.

All at once, he remembered the feelings of isolation. The despair. How even with his friends at his side, his days seemed joyless and gray. How, even with the fairies' promise of an escape, he doubted anyone would even want to _befriend_ a monster such as himself.

And yet here was Marinette. A girl who had literally fallen into their lives, and in the scant days she'd been here, begun talking to the others as if she'd known them their whole lives. How she'd smiled and waved at him earlier that day.

She _wanted_ to know him. She _wanted_ to befriend him.

She knew what he was and yet she still wanted to speak to him, see him.

Finally, he nodded. Just once.

"Alright..."

Marinette smiled as she withdrew her hand and went back to drawing.

Her smile was so _bright,_ he couldn't help smiling back.

* * *

The next day passed near completely uneventfully. This time, Adrien was there with the others at breakfast again, though he didn't eat anything.

Marinette looked up from her oatmeal to Adrien, who just sat by the fireplace again, looking out the window. "Hey," she called over. "Aren't you hungry?"

He shook his head. "I'll eat later."

"But you-"

"Trust me, Mari," Alya said. "He'll eat later. Don't worry about him."

Marinette frowned.

"My Lady," Adrien said, catching her attention. "I _promise_ I'm fine." Then, as if knowing she'd only protest further if he didn't say something else, he raised one paw. "Do you really think I can hold a spoon like this? The toes are more like fingers, I guess, but it's still awkward! I'd look like something from Wonderland."

A ripple of laughter passed around the room, and Marinette relaxed again.

Nothing else happened until an hour later, when Marinette was helping Mylene wash dishes.

"So how long have you lived here?" she asked conversationally.

Mylene hummed under her breath. "About seven years or so," she said.

"It must be tricky, navigating the forest sometimes when you need to buy supplies."

"Oh, we don't leave," Mylene said, making Marinette's brows raise. "The fairies are nice enough to send most of the food here for us! Adrien gets us meat." The girl turned away from the sink with an armload of bowls, heading for the cupboards.

"Why don't you-"

There was a sudden, clattering crash that echoed around the kitchen, shortly followed by Mylene's screaming.

Marinette dropped the ladle she was washing and whirled around, eyes wide. "Mylene!" she cried. "What's wrong!?"

But Mylene wasn't hurt, or collapsed, as Marinette would have expected. Instead, the shorter girl was staring out the window, hands over her mouth. Her face was white as a sheet, her eyes wide and terrified. "A- _Adrieeen!"_ she screamed past her hands. _"It's back! It's_ _ **back**_ _!"_

Marinette looked to the window, expecting to see a wolf, or a bear, or _something._

Anything but a black butterfly fluttering harmlessly on their side of the window.

But a split-second later, Adrien bolted into the kitchens as a black blur, a primal roar echoing around them and making Marinette cover her ears. She noticed Alya and Juleka running in after him, running to Mylene and pulling her away from the window.

But most of her attention was on Adrien, and the purely _furious_ look on his face, pupils slitted and every single fang bared.

Adrien swung a paw at the butterfly. The butterfly tried desperately to flit away, but it wasn't fast enough for the second swipe. This time one of Adrien's bared claws caught its wing, tearing one nearly in half. It dropped drastically, still trying frantically to fly away. Another swipe tore it completely in half, both pieces falling to the stone floor.

It felt like it took forever, but in reality it was over in two seconds. Marinette cried out, hands curling into fists. "It was just a butterfly!" she protested. "Why did you-?!"

But her words died as the halves of the butterfly dissolved into pitch black smoke. Marinette stared as the smoke drifted towards the windowpane, then pushed _through_ the glass and dissipated outside.

Adrien turned towards them then, all traces of the snarl gone from his face. Now his pupils were rounded again, eyes wide in concern. "Are you all right?" he asked, voice slightly hoarse.

Marinette just blinked, baffled. Behind her, Mylene shakily said "Yes. Y-Yes, we're okay."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Marinette asked. "It was just a butterfly...right? It didn't do anything..."

Alya opened her mouth, but nothing came out. After a moment, she pressed her lips together tightly and shook her head. "It's not exactly a butterfly, Marinette," she muttered darkly.

Ivan ran into the room just then, making a beeline for Mylene. As the other girls let her go to him, Adrien focused on Marinette. "Are _you_ okay?" he repeated, head tilting slightly.

Marinette nodded, more confused than ever. "Yes, I'm fine. It didn't even do anything, it just flew around the window. What _could_ it do?" Admittedly, she was accepting that okay, it was clearly not a _normal_ butterfly, the way it dissolved into smoke like that, but... But it wasn't like it was going to kill them. It hadn't been doing much of anything when Mylene saw it.

But then again, the way she'd screamed, the look on Adrien's face...

"Adrien?" she asked softly. "What could it do?"

He didn't say anything.


	7. Bittersweet and Strange

The moon was high in the nighttime sky, and the only true source of light. There didn't need to be any other; no person would ever come to this place. There was nothing but deep, dark forest, high cliffs, and wild animals about. Nothing was civil about this place, not even hikers or campers dared to venture this far.

Well, one person might dare, so long as they knew nothing _else_ would dare attack him.

The sorcerer was growing impatient. The thing he was looking for was not out here, either. He had been certain that it had been hidden somewhere remote, far from humanity, and had come out here. But he couldn't find anything – not the ring, the earrings, the comb, bracelet...

Idly, he wondered why fairies would attach themselves to jewelry, of all things. It didn't help them one bit, if anything it made sealing them away all the easier, he thought as his fingertips briefly caressed the jewel at his collar.

Well, that didn't matter much in the end; even if the fairies had some reason, he didn't care to know it. All that mattered was that he'd control more. No matter how long he had to search, regardless of if someone tried to hide the fairies or not.

And speaking of someone hiding fairies...

The sorcerer held his hand out suddenly, and a faint wisp of black smoke appeared above his palm. It curled around itself, growing steadily darker, until it formed a black butterfly. "Welcome back," the man said in a low voice, raising the thing to his face. "What did you see?"

The butterfly turned back into smoke, wisping towards the man's face. It briefly surrounded his eyes, in a mockery of a butterfly, and he saw.

"Hm," he said to himself, regarding the scene thoughtfully. Two maidens were in the kitchens; one he recognized, the other... "A new face has joined them. Odd, I wouldn't think anyone would have found the mansion, given its history. Especially after all these years." But it held no consequence to him. Another person there wouldn't change a thing.

He smiled wryly as the shorter girl saw his spy and began screaming, summoning his victim. Ah, that was who he wanted to see. This time he was in a rage upon spotting the butterfly, but all the previous times he'd been checked on, he'd be morose, alone yet surrounded by friends. That was what the sorcerer truly liked to see – he enjoyed knowing that the Agreste boy (though nearly a man now) was suffering from his enchantment. Even if he could not, or would not, tell the location of the fairy's ring, it was always entertaining to see him miserable in the meantime.

It was the only reason Hawk Moth had let it go on as long as it had.

Well, that and one other reason, he thought, idly touching the jewel again.

The vision suddenly vanished as the butterfly was damaged, but Hawk Moth had seen all he wanted. It was a bit of a shame that this time Agreste wasn't wallowing in his foolish self-pity, or prowling the forest more like an animal than a human – for those visions were his particular favorites, but this was all right.

Inside the jewel, something fluttered.

* * *

It had taken the better part of the day to calm Mylene down completely. She was shaking and nervous all day, glancing out the window and checking corners, jumping at unexpected movements...

And it was all over a black butterfly.

And Marinette still didn't know _why._ Right after she'd asked Adrien about it, Mylene had let out a particularly loud sob, apparently getting worked up all over again at the mention of it. Immediately feeling pangs of guilt and sympathy, Marinette had rushed over to help console her, but when she turned back around, Adrien was gone.

She couldn't look for him until nighttime, when Mylene was finally able to pour herself some tea without the kettle shaking.

"Are you going to be alright?" Marinette asked, brows knitted. Odd reason or not, Mylene had clearly been upset.

The smaller girl just nodded, managing a shy smile. "I'll be okay," she said, adjusting her hands around the teacup to better warm them. "It ju-just brought back some bad memories. That's all."

 _Bad memories?_ Marinette couldn't help but think.

But Mylene had been so shaken and upset that Marinette didn't dare consider asking her for an explanation. The last thing she needed was to make the poor girl upset and start crying all over again.

So she'd gone to the only other person she felt she should ask.

Ten minutes after her conversation with Mylene, Marinette stood at Adrien's door. There was a sense of deja vu that made her smile a little despite herself – the only difference in the scene was there weren't hushed whispers this time.

...huh. She couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door. He wasn't asleep, was he?

Cautiously, she rapped on the door. "Adrien?" she called softly. "It's Marinette."

At first, there was just silence. Maybe he _was_ asleep. Then she heard his voice, hoarse and a bit raw-sounding. "Come in."

The door creaked open and Marinette peered in before taking a few steps inside. What she saw made her heart twist in sympathy.

Adrien sat at a window, his chin resting on the sill. His ears were down – not in anger or frustration, but rather drooping in sadness. His tail wasn't moving, lying limply on the floor like a belt. His muscles were relaxed, and she got the impression that he hadn't moved for quite some time and had just allowed himself to go slack. She couldn't see his face, but she had a pretty good idea of what it must look like.

Sitting on the windowsill, next to his head, were Tikki and Plagg. Both of them only gave Marinette a brief glance – though Tikki at least smiled ruefully – before turning their focus back to Adrien. It didn't seem like anyone had been speaking, but rather the fairies were offering silent support just by being there.

Well, Marinette didn't do 'silent' all that well. And seeing how upset the three of them were only made her curiosity burn stronger. She approached Adrien slowly so as not to startle him, and carefully reached out to put a hand on his back. He didn't tense up under her touch, which either meant he was getting used to her or he was that depressed.

She hoped it was the former.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Nothing. I'm just...thinking."

"Do you want to tell me what about?"

"...my parents."

Marinette blinked, taken aback despite herself.

"It's the butterflies," he mumbled, as if sensing her confusion. "They- there were a bunch of them around, before my mother died. I didn't think anything of it at the time, I barely even saw them myself. I think I saw one outside a window one night but it was dark so I-

"Mylene was the one who saw them the most. Bad luck, I think. One night she just ran into one of the rooms, yelling and crying for help and saying something about butterflies coming to hurt us. We didn't believe her but she said she'd seen one fly into my mother's room. She'd gone in to shoo it out, thinking it was just a normal one but then...Then she saw it fly above Mother's face, and then it floated _into_ her and...Mother started coughing and gasping for air the next second, and that was when the doctors ran in."

Marinette stared, both because of the story and how readily Adrien was telling it.

She could tell by his flat, dull tone though that he was speaking without really thinking about it. It was just coming out. Had this been bottled up for a long time? Was he just desperate for _someone_ to know about this? "That's why you were so angry," she realized.

Adrien went on as if he didn't hear. "When we left, some of my friends admitted they'd seen some too. Before Mylene, I mean. Ivan said he'd seen five or six hanging around the gardener's shed, Nino saw a bunch of them sitting on the musician's instruments like they were just _waiting_ for something, Alya saw some outside her own window once but she ran once one came in – she said she'd had a horrible feeling about it and just had to get away." His voice grew tighter with emotion then. "And then- two weeks after we left, I-" He stopped.

"I saw-" Another stop. It was strange-sounding, as if someone had suddenly stolen his voice, rather than him stopping himself. Marinette couldn't help but frown.

Adrien sighed, swallowing. When he spoke again, his voice was still tight, quivering slightly. "There were a lot of them one night. I hated them, I was afraid of them. I thought they'd do what they did to my parents, and my friends' parents and all the others... They didn't, but...But when I see more of them I can't help but think of..."

A corner of Marinette's mind couldn't help but ask: how did a cat creature move house, how did he befriend a bunch of humans in the first place, were his parents cats as well – but none of it was important. And honestly, it was only a small _corner_ of Marinette's mind asking this. The rest of her was sympathetic and angry.

Oh, and confused, but...well, the butterfly Adrien had killed had turned into black smoke. And she was sitting with him, a large cat-like creature – whom she had _apparently_ been hearing in her dreams. And there were two fairies on the window.

 _Obviously_ , they couldn't just be normal butterflies.

And even if they had been, the end result was the same. They'd had something to do with the loss of his parents.

Marinette was suddenly aware that the flesh and muscle beneath her hand was trembling. She blinked, coming back to reality, and saw Adrien was trembling faintly. He was pointedly staring out the window as before, but this time he was tenser. Shaking.

And Marinette realized he was trying not to cry.

"Oh, Adrien..." she whispered, coming closer to sit next to him properly. He didn't look at her, but didn't resist as Marinette wrapped her arms around him as best she could, bowing her head so her forehead touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Adrien hadn't known why he told her about his family, his friends. He had only meant to tell her about the butterflies – why they were dangerous, why Mylene had panicked at the sight, how if she were to _ever_ see another one she _must_ run as fast as she can.

But it was like a dam had burst.

He'd only ever told Tikki and Plagg about it, and even then he didn't have much to tell because the wounds were still fresh. He couldn't talk about it to the others, because they _knew._ They knew and it would just bring back sad memories for them. He couldn't force them to relive their own last days at the other mansion. He wasn't cruel.

So he'd kept it all in, for seven years.

And when he finally had an opportunity to just _talk_ about it, to explain what had happened, to say how frightened he'd been that night, even if he wasn't able to speak of what _actually_ happened...

 _(He saw them coming in when the man was leaving. He thought, for one terrifying instant, that maybe he'd be struck ill just like his mother had, even after apparently being transformed. But there were so many of them, maybe he'd die altogether-_

 _And he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed when it wasn't so.)_

He expected the tightness in his chest and throat. He expected to feel the same despair and fear and anger he'd felt before.

He hadn't expected Marinette to comfort him.

" _I'm sorry."_

Let it be known that Adrien Agreste did not _cry._ He was seventeen, had long accepted his circumstances, had plenty of time to get used to the way things way and to come to terms with what had happened. He did not _cry._

He _might,_ however, have dropped from the windowsill to the floor, feeling drained all of a sudden. He may have allowed Marinette to hug him tighter, gently petting the back of his head (not like one does an animal, but a person, for which he was grateful), and he _may_ have had trouble controlling his breathing. His breathing might have suddenly become shaky and irregular, his eyes may have burned, and his throat might have constricted far worse than it had before. And he _might_ have let out some loud, anguished sounds that were mostly incoherent but sometimes sounded like _Why?_

But if anyone were to ask anyone in that room, they would say that he had certainly _not_ cried for ten minutes while Marinette whispered soothing words and hugged him tight. Certainly not.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

This time the words came from Adrien, half-lying on the floor with his face turned away from Marinette. He had finally calmed, but Marinette wasn't letting go yet. She just loosened her grip so he could move into a more comfortable position, and one hand was still on top of his head.

She frowned. "What for?"

"For...doing that." His voice was back to normal again, emotion and all. It allowed her to hear his embarrassment plain as day. "I promise I'm not...I'm not usually like that-"

"It's okay." Marinette smiled and shrugged. "Everyone has their bad days, and needs to-" She stopped.

Remember, he had not cried.

"Vent?" Tikki offered helpfully from the window.

Marinette's ears burned slightly as she remembered their audience, but she just said "Exactly. Thank you, Tikki." She smiled as Adrien finally looked at her again. "How do you feel?"

"...a bit better."

"Good. And-" Marinette stopped. She was about to say, _'I promise to watch out for butterflies'_ but given the circumstances behind them...that wouldn't be a good idea. "And...can you tell me about your family? I'm kind of curious now, and maybe it'll help more?"

Adrien was silent for a long time; Marinette could see his jaw muscles clenching. He opened his mouth once, as if trying to speak, but nothing came out. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I don't think so." Then, before Marinette could be too disappointed, "Can you tell me about yours instead? You're living with us now but I don't know a lot about _you_ yet, besides the fact you live in the village." A pause. "Without them?"

Marinette let out a short laugh. "Yeah. Maman and Papa live in the city, still."

"That's not too far away," Adrien said readily.

"No. I mean, it's a bit of a journey, but it's not a long or a bad one.

We used to live together there, when I was a kid. Maman took me out all the time to see the seamstresses and tailors and their merchandise – she wasn't interested in clothing herself, but _I_ was, and she wanted to indulge me. She used to say that just because she and Papa were more about baking, didn't mean they weren't going to support my interests.

"Eventually, I was such a regular visitor to the shops that they'd order extra fabric from the merchants and give it to me. Once when I was twelve, one of the seamstresses I liked handed me a huge bolt of red cloth and said 'Here. Show me what you can do with it.'"

A fond smile came to Marinette's face as she spoke. She remembered that day fondly...The bolt had been as big as she was, and she'd had to awkwardly waddle down the street with it, avoiding other passers-by. When she'd made it home, she'd spent the whole night and half of the day hard at work, not even noticing she was hungry until she was actually _frightened_ by her stomach rumbling.

She had gone in a few days later, proudly showing off a beautiful dress; with long, full sleeves and a flowing, swishy skirt, just between every-day and special-occasion. The red cloth she'd managed to dye a bit darker, and she had added a few black spots near the cuffs of the sleeve and to splash on the collar. If one looked close at the collar's spots, they would see swirls and curves of black thread, elegantly spelling out Marinette's own name.

The woman had taken it in near-reverence, saying that if this was Marinette's _first_ attempt, she would have no trouble making a name for herself.

"I started doing a few commissions at first, and Maman and Papa were so proud of me...One time, Papa even made tiny cakes that looked like spools of ribbon, calling them 'Petit Marinettes,'" she laughed.

"It sounds great," Adrien said, sounding a little happier than he had been.

"So why'd ya leave?"

"Plagg!" Tikki whispered.

Marinette smiled ruefully. "There was a wealthy man in the city, and he saw my work. He wanted to have me design and create fashions for his daughter – who's my age – to wear. He promised me my own, huge room and studio for working, and high wages. And his daughter was a socialite – I knew if she wore my fashions, they'd be noticed, and I'd be able to become a famous designer in a few short years. My parents and I talked it over; they said they would miss me, but we swore to write, and I wasn't going to be far..."

That thought had been one of the only ones to keep her going during that time.

She remembered arriving at the Bourgeois home, introducing herself to Chloé as her personal dressmaker...and quickly learning how insufferable the other girl was. At first, she was mildly relieved that most of Chloé's attention was focused elsewhere so long as Marinette did her work, but then she'd seen Chloé's personal maid, well, personally.

The redhead girl had been following Chloé like an obedient, desperate, puppy, eager to fulfill any of her needs-

-and then Chloé had snapped that she was too close and pushed her back. It hadn't been hard enough to hurt, but then the blonde had said "Even personal maidservants are _maidservants,_ and they are meant to be _invisible."_

The girl had looked so wounded just then, that Marinette couldn't help but pity her. She had stepped in at that moment to tell Chloé off, but all the girl did was smirk and remind her that she was under her _father's_ employment, and if she was impertinent again they could easily fire her and have her replaced.

Even now, Marinette's gut burned at the memory.

"Mari?" Adrien asked, snapping her back to the present. "You went all quiet. Is something wrong?"

Marinette shook her head. "No," she said, choosing to ignore the sudden (though not entirely unwanted) nickname. "No, sorry, I just got lost in thought. Where was I?"

She could hear Adrien's smile in his tone. "You were telling us about being a famous dressmaker to _one_ person."

"Hush, you," Marinette said, gently bopping him on the shoulder. Despite this, she grinned.

Over the next five or so minutes, Marinette talked. About how the job had been taxing at times, but how she'd endured, how she was getting closer to her dream, how she'd somewhat-befriended the personal maid... How one night, Chloé had worn one of Marinette's creations to a ball being held in town, and some of the higher nobility had taken notice, asked who had designed such a piece. Marinette was going to make it...

...and then a day or so later, it had all come crashing down. How she hadn't known _what_ had happened, but most of the staff were forced to leave, how the family's money was lost, how she and some other girls tried not to be too sick in the rickety wagon to Molyneaux...

"And now I'm here, and you know the rest," Marinette finished with a shrug. She paused thoughtfully. "Huh. Y'know, we both started talking about one thing and ended with another."

Adrien laughed again. "I'm not complaining about that though, are you?"

"Nope," Marinette admitted with a laugh of her own. Hers was more relieved, however. Adrien really did feel better after all.

He fell into a thoughtful silence, green eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the ceiling. "Hey," he finally said. "You're designing new clothes for everyone, right? Everyone was talking about it earlier." At Marinette's nod, he went on "If... _maybe,_ just _maybe_ I can work something out? Maybe someday, I can help get your name out instead."

How he planned to do that, he had _no_ earthly idea. Everyone would sooner shoot a large black cat creature than listen to it, and his friends...had their own set of difficulties.

But he wanted to offer. He wanted to at least offer Marinette that hope – neither knew how long she would stay here, he wanted her to at least _believe_ her talents wouldn't go to waste. He didn't know _how_ he would help her, but he'd think of _something._

Eventually.

Marinette's brows were raised when he looked at her again, but not in skepticism. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a little as she leaned closer. " _Really?"_ she asked.

Adrien couldn't help think how that was actually pretty adorable. "Sure. I mean – I don't know how I'll do that," he admitted, not wanting her to believe he was leading her on, "but I can think of something. It won't happen overnight, but I promise it won't take _years_ either. I want to do something for you, and your designs _do_ look nice," he added.

Marinette leaned back, one eyebrow raising in a challenging manner. "And what do you want in return?"

He blinked. "Nothing."

"Oka – wait, _nothing?"_

Neither of them saw the quick look the two fairies sent each other.

"Why would I want anything in return? I want to do something nice for you – you're my friend." He sounded a little surprised as he said this, as if not even he had noticed or considered it. "You deserve to be recognized, you deserve this." _Especially since you're stuck in a mansion in the forest, with me. You may as well get some kind of reward for this,_ he thought.

Marinette frowned. "I have to think of _something_ for you, though-"

"Mari. I am _not_ asking for anything in return." His tone left no room for argument.

Blue and green locked for a long ten seconds; blue utterly stunned and green gentle but unyielding. Finally, Marinette sighed and smiled, holding one hand out. "Okay." Her smile widened a fraction as Adrien slipped his paw into her hand, the two of them shaking on it. "Thank you."

Tikki cleared her throat just then. "Pardon me," she said cheerfully. "But while I am glad to see everything is all right now, and this truly is a nice moment-"

"We're hungry."

"Nooooo, I was going to say that I believe it is nearly dinner-time, and Adrien, you have not eaten _anything_ since breakfast! Come on, then!" In a red streak of light, Tikki zipped from the window to Adrien's door. "Let's get you both down there before poor Adrien starves! So skinny already, really..." she muttered motherly, passing through the door.

As Marinette and Adrien rose to their feet, the latter made an odd face. "I'm not skinny, am I?" he asked, glancing down at his cat-like form. It was a bit hard to tell, but he was _sure_ there was muscle and fat there.

"Tikki thinks _everyone's_ too skinny," Plagg muttered as he floated past. "Hm, but she is right, _you_ definitely need to eat more."

"Wow. Thank you," Adrien deadpanned as they went out the door together.

* * *

It was an odd experience, being confined like this. One giant contradiction.

In a way, it was like being asleep, but in another way it was like being awake. He was aware of everything around him, everything that was happening, yet it was through a heavy fog, and he couldn't actually _do_ much of anything.

He felt intangible, but at the same time he knew where all his limbs were, he knew when his eyes were open or closed, and he _knew_ he was curled up in a little ball, weak as a newborn pixie.

He felt heavy and slow, but his mind...oh, his _mind_ was racing.

Racing to think, racing to come up with another plan – not another escape, per se, the last attempt had left him so drained of energy he thought he'd die. His mind was loud, screaming in desperation and anger and regret. He wondered if the boy knew how sorry he was. How he had so _tried_ to hold the magic back, but once his captor had set his mind to it there was no stopping it. How he had begged for it not to happen, pleaded with him to stop even as the heavy spell settled on the mansion.

But of course, for all his protests, there was nothing to be done back then.

It was lucky, he mused (with what was left to muse _with)_ that he'd been able to achieve as much as he had. To _hide_ as much as he had.

He felt a familiar sensation then: a ripple of anger, frustration and hatred from his captor. The fairy felt sick from it, and fell still again.


	8. Hints and Presents

"I don't see how you can _enjoy_ laundry," Marinette groused around a clothespin.

Beside her, Rose hummed a little as she tossed a bed sheet over the clothesline, smoothing out any folds or wrinkles. "I don't think I _enjoy_ it, really," she said. "But I do love helping the others, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes afterward."

"How does laundry 'help others?'" Marinette couldn't help but laugh. In her experience, laundry was just something to _get done_ , and it made your back ache and your hands pruny. And she'd only had to do her _own_ laundry – the laundresses at the old Bourgeois manor had to deal with the entire home's laundry on a daily basis, including bedding and table linens.

The girls were in the yard, not quite in the garden, but close to it. It was where they normally hung laundry, Rose had explained as she pointed out the already-there clothesline.

"Well, alright, it doesn't help others the same way charity does," Rose admitted, "but it's nice to know that it's one less job for everyone else, right?"

"Hm, I guess so." Marinette handed Rose the clothespin that had previously been in her mouth. She had to smile a bit as Rose took it, discreetly wiped it on her (worn, patched) skirt, and _then_ attached it to the sheet. "It is nice that it's so quiet, though," she admitted. "Peaceful."

"Is laundry not peaceful where you're from?"

"Hah! Hardly," Marinette laughed, joining Rose in picking up another sheet. "I have to plan carefully so I can actually get enough water, _and_ make sure it doesn't interfere with precious Lady Chloé's daily bath, _and_ be lucky enough to get to the laundry room when no one else is there. And that's only the planning. Actually doing it is just _ugghhh!_ " Marinette punctuated her statement by sticking her tongue out and curling her lip, rolling her eyes skyward. "Crowded and rushed and everyone prefers different soaps and it all mixes in the air and smells terrible. Even if I have enough water, it's too cold because someone else got there first... It's nothing but a chore and a hassle and it's _annoying."_

Rose blinked, a little taken aback by the sudden rant. When Marinette grinned playfully at her, she laughed and relaxed again. "Well, then, I'm glad I don't live there!" She paused thoughtfully then, reaching for the last sheet. "Hm, don't you mean 'had,' though?"

"Huh?"

"You said you _have_ to do things this way, but surely you mean you _had_ to, right?" Rose's smile became a bit softer. "It's not like that anymore. You're with us now and at least that part is better."

"Huh." Marinette blinked. "I guess you're right."

After that, the two girls worked in companionable silence. Marinette had a little time to reflect on Rose's comments while they worked.

She was right about things being a bit better. And it wasn't just the laundry, either.

A few days had passed since the incident with the butterfly. Marinette had kept her eyes peeled for another, but she didn't see any, luckily. No one else seemed to either, which she took as a good sign.

In those days, she continued doing what she had been doing; helping the others when she could, eating with everyone...just being there, as if she'd lived there for longer than a mere week and a half.

It was so much different here than it was at the Bourgeois home. At the Bourgeois home, she had very few friends – practically none at all. She spoke to Sabrina a few times, certainly felt sorry for her, but she didn't think that qualified as friendship, exactly. But here? Here, she had friends, she had people to interact with more social and personal levels. It was hard to _not_ strike up a conversation with Alya and Nino, or to stop and chat with someone in the halls for the better part of an hour.

In fact, that had been how she'd ended up out here in the first place. Not that she minded _that_ much, she was enjoying the talking and socializing part of this.

And then there was Adrien, and the fairies. Tikki was sweet and helpful, and sure, Plagg was still being a little pain, but he was being quieter around her so perhaps he was starting to like her. Well, "like" might be a strong word, but it was something. And Adrien...Marinette was enjoying his company too.

Every night, he'd come find her, sitting by a light in the sitting room with her sketchpad out. They never did anything particular in that time, just sit and talk – usually Adrien would start by asking if Marinette was really enjoying her time here, as if he were anxious.

"You know I am," she'd said the night before, glancing up from her sketchpad. At his (admittedly adorable) look of confusion, she added "If I didn't like it here, you'd hear me complaining about it, _trust_ me," she'd added with a laugh. "You should have heard me in the forest the night you found me."

That had made him smile and relax, and conversation would turn to other things: food, what life in a village was like (Marinette had been interested to learn he'd never lived in a small village, and she mentally filed it away for later), the happenings around the mansion...and Marinette's uninterrupted sketching as they talked. She never showed him what she was drawing – _that_ was a surprise, she thought with a private smirk – but he didn't appear to mind. He never even asked, now that she thought of it. Maybe he knew that you couldn't see a work in progress.

...she wondered, briefly, if one of his parents had been an artist, too. Then she wondered how a cat creature could hold a bit of charcoal.

Well, it didn't matter really, she'd thought as she took in the state of his clothes, still torn and tattered and more like torn sheets than real clothes. He'd find out soon enough anyway.

And honestly? Thinking about how great things were here, thinking about her new friends, about Adrien...It was making Marinette not _want_ to go back to the village. Yeah! She could just live out here, with them!

She sighed, turning to the laundry basket. No, that'd never work out. She couldn't stay out here forever – Chloé's father would never believe her father was sick _that_ long. Maybe she could just quit that job, then move in here? Adrien _did_ promise to help her get her clothing recognized and get her career going, so maybe-

-perhaps it was pure luck, or perhaps fate, but right then a fierce gust of wind rushed past, and picked up the last sheet with it.

"Oh no!" Rose cried. "We just washed that!"

"I got it!" Marinette yelled back, racing after the errant bed sheet as it blew off towards the back gate. The _last_ thing she wanted was for it to get grass stains and force them to clean it all over again. No way, not a chance in _hell-_

At some point she heard Rose's footsteps falter and then halt altogether, but Marinette didn't care. She ran past the open gate, towards the edge of the forest, and- "Gotcha!" she yelled, finally catching up to the sheet and grabbing it. She pulled it towards her quickly, checking it over for stains or twigs. Mercifully, it was as clean as it was before. Marinette sighed in relief and turned around to head back. "Hey, Rose, I got-"

She stopped, staring without being entirely sure why.

Rose was standing just outside the open gate, her large eyes anxious. Marinette could see her feet shuffling a little, as if she wanted to go somewhere. She made no steps beyond the gate.

Marinette stood there a moment longer, then spoke up, purely based on a wild idea. "Hey, you want to come out here and help me bring it in?"

"I can't," Rose said simply.

Marinette's brows rose slowly. "You _can't_ , or-"

" _They haven't left the mansion in years."_

" _Tikki and Plagg are needed at the mansion."_

" _The only people who can do that are-"_

No. No, that was impossible.

But she'd seen a lot of impossible things lately.

 _They can't **leave,**_ she realized with a slow-creeping horror. _The only ones who can leave are Adrien, Tikki, and Plagg..._

"Marinette?" Rose called out.

"Oh! Right, sorry," Marinette mumbled, walking back towards the gate. "Sorry, I'm coming!"

She'd file this away for later.

* * *

As it turned out, their conversation about Marinette's skill at design and sewing had been _perfectly_ timed.

She woke up in the middle of the night, long before anyone else, and reached under her bed. Her hand touched some wrapped parcels, and she drew them towards her. Then she quietly made her way down the hall to Adrien's room, and gently rapped on the door.

The door opened almost immediately. Probably because the knock sounded louder to his sensitive ears. He groaned rubbing at his eye with the back of a paw. "Mari?" he yawned, using the nickname that seemed to have replaced 'My Lady.' "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."

"I know," Marinette responded with a sly smile. "We have a secret mission tonight."

"We?" Adrien echoed, paw lowering. His green eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion as he noticed the parcels. "What are _those?"_ he asked.

"Cheese?" Plagg's sleepy voice murmured behind him.

"These," Marinette said with an even wider grin, one that showed her teeth, "are gifts. Tonight, we're Santa Claus."

Minutes later, they were walking down the darkened hallway as quietly as they could, Adrien leading Marinette through the dark. She'd been worried that a candle might have woken the others, so she needed someone who could actually see where he was going. She held the parcels in both arms to keep from dropping them, allowing Adrien to walk upright beside her, one paw resting on her shoulder as he guided her along. It was a little strange, she couldn't help but muse. Most people would be terrified, or at the very least unnerved, by a heavy, furry paw touching them while they were in the dark, but right now she found it rather comforting.

And not just because it was the only thing that kept her from walking into something.

"Okay, this is Nino's room," Adrien whispered, stopping in front of a door that Marinette could only see if she squinted. Marinette could hear the smile in his voice, clearly he was finding this as exciting as she was.

"Okay, take the one with his name on it," she whispered back, holding her arms out. She could see a huge dark shadow that she knew was Adrien lean closer to her, carefully shift through the parcels, and then snatch one. Then he quietly laid it on the floor just in front of the door, and the two moved on.

"You know, you really don't have to do this," he whispered as they kept walking. "You _being_ here is making them happier already, you don't have to go this far."

"What, and let you all wear rags? What kind of seamstress would I be if I did that?" Marinette half-teased. She felt Adrien's paw twitch on her shoulder, and she knew he'd picked up on the 'you all' part. It was okay, though, so long as he didn't ask questions til later...

"Why couldn't we do this in the daytime, though? Not that this isn't fun, of course, but – oh, Mylene's room is here."

"You said it yourself," Marinette laughed quietly. "This is _way_ more fun!"

Adrien picked out the correct parcel, set it down, and they moved on. "How did you even get our sizes? - Oh, there's Ivan's."

"Never underestimate my skills. In sewing, or in eyeballing someone's measurements," Marinette said. But she said it so matter-of-factly, sounding so serious, that Adrien couldn't help laughing – quietly, of course. After just a moment, Marinette's solemn face broke, and she hid her mouth against the parcel nearest her to muffle her own laughter.

They carried on in that way for about two more minutes. Adrien led Marinette from room to room, they'd lay down the gift, and move on. Adrien couldn't help but notice, however, that one parcel still remained in Marinette's arms. A parcel and – was that her sketchpad?

"Mari, whose-"

"Shhh! Let's just head back. Your room, please."

"My roo-"

"Will you just c' _mon!"_ Marinette whispered loudly, giving Adrien a gentle push.

* * *

Adrien was still clueless when they did reach his room, entering quietly in order to keep from waking up Tikki and Plagg. His confusion only heightened when Marinette dragged him to the middle of the floor, sat down, and handed over the last parcel.

"Okay. Open it," Marinette said, actually doing a little wiggle in anticipation.

Adrien let out a small laugh at the sight before obliging. He carefully grabbed one corner of the paper in his hand-like paws, and began to tear at the paper. Much as his hands disturbed him, even now, he was happy they were at least vaguely human enough to do this. It meant he didn't have to pop out his claws and just tear at the paper, like a true animal.

Besides, if he did that, he might ruin whatever was inside here.

And what was inside the parcel was-

He stopped, eyes widening and breath catching slightly in his throat. It was cloth, folded up into a neat, thick square. He slid his paws into one of the folds and lifted it up, allowing it to fall open.

"It's new clothes," Marinette offered. "You didn't think I'd forget _you_ , did you?"

Adrien just turned the cloth this way and that. Set one item down and unfolded the other even more. All the while, he just stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. He could tell one was a shirt, a cream-colored one. That was what he held in his paws at that moment, the black bit of fabric still on the floor was a pair of pants, with bright green stitching at the bottom of the legs.

"Er...Mari..." he began, throat slightly tight. What was he going to tell her? _They'll never fit? I'll tear them up? I'll ruin them, you didn't have to do this?_

As if she read his mind, Marinette cleared her throat and spoke up again. "I altered the pattern a bit from how they're usually made, to work with your body – I mean, with your limbs and stuff," she added. "Give it a try, c'mon!"

Still apprehensive – Marinette was good, she'd said, but he wasn't entirely sure yet if she was _that_ good – Adrien lifted the shirt higher...and then stopped. "Uh...can you step out into the hall?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, sorry," Marinette laughed, sounding a little awkward, and stood back up. "I'll be right outside, tell me when you're done!" And with that, she was out the door, shutting it behind her.

Adrien regarded the clothes a moment longer before shrugging out of the tatters he normally wore. Unsure as he was, he really did hope these fit. Somehow, when he'd first transformed, his clothes had been mostly unscathed – they fit tighter in some parts, but they didn't tear. The trouble had come when he'd tried to change clothes later – it had been near impossible to take them off in the normal way, and his claws popped out and shredded his sleeves. The pants had been _very_ impossible to deal with. And it only got worse as the years passed and his cat-like body got larger. After a while, the only way he could get dressed at all was if he thoroughly tore the sleeves and collars of his shirts, and reduced the lower legs of his pants to ribbons.

It was highly undignified, and it took about a year for him to stop feeling ashamed of it, but it was far better than the alternative.

He might be a monster, he might be animalistic in some ways, but there was no way in hell he was walking around naked, thank you.

But, to his surprise...the shirt slipped over his shoulders and head easily. It was large, kind of billowy in the sleeves, but that made them comfortable instead of tight. There was actually room to spare. The neck was a little loose, he noticed as he reached up to adjust it, but further investigation led to him finding some drawstrings in the front. He pulled gently and the collar tightened to fit him better. He found smaller ones on the ends of the sleeves and and pulled them to fit snugly over the wrists.

The pants were much the same way, only the legs had some excess fabric in some areas, and the drawstring was only at the waist. It was hard for him to explain, but he knew that wasn't how you made pants. He didn't figure out what the extra fabric was _for_ until he actually put them on; they were meant to accommodate his legs better, with the different way they bent and how they were more cat than human.

He stood there, staring at himself for a moment before slowly sinking into a sitting position, like a cat would. The clothes still fit perfectly, never pulling uncomfortably or slipping.

Marinette had really thought of everything when she'd made this.

"O-Okay," he called out. "I'm done..."

The door slowly creaked open again, and Marinette poked her head in. A second later, she smiled brightly and re-entered the room, clasping her hands together. "They look great on you!" she said. "I'm sorry they're so simple, but I wasn't sure what your personal preferences were, and I was thinking if you want, I can alter them and add things later-"

"No. No, these are great..." Adrien mumbled, looking down at himself again.

Marinette was quiet for a few minutes. "Do you not like them?" she finally asked, sounding worried.

He shook his head. "No, I..." How did he put this? "I'm just...surprised you'd do this for me." His heart sank a little. She'd only ever seen him in tatters and rags. Had she done this out of _pity?_

"Well, you're my friend too," she said, interrupted that thought right away. "Of course I'd make you something, too!"

"How did you even figure out what to do with these?" he asked, turning around and looking down over his shoulder. He hadn't noticed it at first, because it'd slipped out so seamlessly, but the pants even had an opening for his tail! And not just a crude hole either, like he'd had to make, but a hidden slit that'd been folded over. Something actually somewhat _dignified._

He looked back at Marinette in time to see a beatific smile. She held her sketchpad in front of herself, flipping through the pages until she came to whatever she was looking for, and turned it towards him.

And his breath caught again.

She'd been sketching _him_ during their conversations.

"Studies," she said. "Sorry if it's a little creepy, but it was supposed to be a surprise, you see." She looked over the top of her book at some of the pages. "Well, okay, not _all_ of them were studies," she admitted, turning a little red as she pointed to a few sketches. "Some of these I just _had_ to draw."

Like, apparently, him being half-asleep because the fire was making him tired.

"It's not creepy, is it? Sorry, I should have asked about that first, but-"

"No! No, it's fine," he said hastily, waving his paws in front of himself. "I mean...It's kind of flattering." _You made me look not-scary. You're a great artist. I'm amazed you were able to figure out how to sew these with just those sketches for reference._ "Thank you. For all this."

Marinette's smile returned, a little more relaxed as she closed the sketchpad again. "You're welcome. Sorry everyone only has one new outfit for now, but maybe later on..." She fell silent, frowning. Adrien just stared. What was the matter? But before he could ask, she tsk'd and shook her head, smile returning. "Anyway. I'm going to head back to bed, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Adrien echoed. "Hey, Marinette?" he called out again as Marinette was opening the door.

"Hm?"

"Thanks again. I really...I _really_ mean it when I say 'for everything.'"

Another smile. He was starting to really like her smiles. "You're welcome," she said simply. "Good night, Adrien."

"'Night, Mari," he said, but she'd already shut the door.

Outside, Marinette leaned against the door for a few moments, sketchpad held tightly to her chest. Dawn was already starting to break, so the hall was a bit lighter. Good for her, because she'd foolishly forgotten to ask Adrien to walk her back to her room – and she couldn't go back and ask _now,_ that'd be too embarrassing.

 _I should have asked about Rose. About the others,_ she thought as she finally pushed off the door and started walking. She knew she should have, it was a perfect chance. It was quiet, they were alone, the fairies were fast asleep so Plagg couldn't bother them...

...but something had stopped her. Perhaps it was the mood, or the moment, or the situation entirely. Adrien had just seemed so _happy_ with her gift, even if the signs were subtle. But she'd seen it: his green eyes had gleamed a little, sort of sparkled. He smiled a little, his voice sounded lighter...

She couldn't ruin that moment by asking such a strange question.

Besides, she told herself later, climbing back into bed and pulling her covers to her chin, she still had time.

She still had...plenty of time...

* * *

 _She was in the rose garden._

 _Marinette closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, a smile gracing her features as she soaked everything in. The sunlight was warm against her skin and hair, the scent of roses and sweet grass surrounded her without being intoxicating, and she hadn't a care in the world. She opened her eyes again to look at the sky, a pure azure without a single cloud to block the sun._

 _A perfect, beautiful day._

 _She looked back down. Mylene and Ivan were in front of her, attending to a rose bush. Ivan was removing some of the buds with surprising gentleness, considering his size and appearance. Marinette couldn't help but smile wider, recalling what her mother would tell her: appearances can be deceiving._

 _They must be getting more flowers for the rose tea, she realized. Then she did laugh, covering her mouth as she saw Ivan give Mylene one of the most adorable looks ever. She had better let them be._

 _Humming quietly, Marinette walked away from them to another section of the garden. It was big enough for her to enjoy it and not bother them, or potentially interrupt a moment._

 _And then she walked around another rose bush and saw someone unfamiliar._

 _They were on their side, curled catlike, napping in the sun. They wore a simple cream-colored shirt and black pants. Their skin was fair, but had signs of being sun-kissed – it was a shade or two darker than Marinette's own, and she swore she could see the tiniest hint of freckling in some areas. Their blond hair was just a **little** bit long, and tousled in a way that she knew wasn't just due to bedhead._

 _She had never seen this person before...who was this?_

 _As Marinette watched, something odd happened. The person in front of her began to grow fuzzy – not in the literal sense, but it was as if a fogged-up piece of glass were being placed in front of Marinette's eyes She blinked, trying to see them clearly again, but the more she tried, the less she could really see. What was happening, what was going on?_

 _A white butterfly fluttered past her and to the person, landing on their cheek._

" _ **Please..."** a voice whispered. **"Please, you must keep trying!"**_

" _I am," Marinette said back, not entirely sure who she was speaking to. It wasn't the voice from before, it wasn't Adrien's voice. She knew that much. "But who **are** you? What am I trying to do exactly – what do I **need** to do?!"_

" _ **Please, you must-"**_

 _The person became sharp again, she could see them – **him –** properly again. He stirred, likely from the butterfly's touch, his eyes began to open just as the butterfly flew away, moving to look at her. He smiled as if they were old friends, she looked from his mouth to meet his eyes-_

The sound of delighted shouting woke her up just then. Marinette sat up with a groan, rubbing at her eyes. She could hear fast footfalls outside her door, then Adrien's voice whispering "Guys, wait, stop, she needs her _sleep!"_

"Oh my God, Adrien, she got you too!" Alya cried. "You look _so much better!"_

"Thank you – okay, no, but really, she's probably still tired, so let's just-"

"Why didn't she make _us_ anything?!"

"Plagg, we don't _wear_ clothes, remember?"

"So?! I might've liked a present too!"

"Let's just go..."

And then she heard no more, as the voices grew quieter, their owners apparently walking down the hallway. She exhaled in relief, falling back onto the bed. More sleep, thank goodness...

Another thing to like about this place rather than Chloé's home. Chloé would have sent someone to break the door down, or something.

She opened her eyes again to stare at the ceiling, trying to remember the rapidly-fading dream. She was already starting to forget, but it was the mansion, there was a strange young man, and a new voice and...

She had to do something, but she didn't know what yet. Someone was trying to speak to her, but they couldn't...

Maybe she could ask about this too, when she had a chance.

A small noise caught her attention, and she sat up again to see a plain card shoved under her door. She got out of bed and crossed the room to pick it up.

" _Thank you again._

 _-Adrien."_

Marinette chuckled, feeling her chest grow a little warm. "You're welcome, you goof," she murmured affectionately.


	9. The Plot Thickens

"And remember, get the almond tarts, but the _honey_ buns!"

"Yes, Chloè."

"And Papa wants the strawberry jam this time, not raspberry – and you have to remember that this month, I want to wear the _rose_ perfume."

"Yes, Chloè."

"Well, don't just stand there, you fool, _go!"_

Sabrina stumbled out the door, basket in hand, before Chloè could say anything more. Or throw her shoe at her head.

She took a second to regain her composure and headed into the heart of the village. Normally she'd be going with Chloè, but the lady of the house had caught a cold and was _insistent_ that she couldn't be seen the way she was. But there was still shopping to be done, so Sabrina had been sent alone.

Not that she could say she minded. It'd be nice to go out on her own, to shop at her own pace and get lost in her thoughts for a bit. Peaceful.

She found her thoughts going back to her sick employer, and how she'd heard that Marinette's father had been ill too. She hoped he recovered quickly so Marinette could come home. Sabrina wasn't sure she could take her absence much longer – not that they were friends, per se, but Marinette was always a companionable girl. They got along well enough, and it was usually Marinette who was the most sympathetic when Sabrina inspired Chloè's ire.

And Marinette was probably the only one in the house who was brave enough to speak her mind to Chloè, something that was equal parts refreshing and entertaining.

As Sabrina headed to the perfume-seller, she heard a loud commotion on the other side of the road.

"Lila, say it's not so!"

"It can't be true! You're lying!"

"Have you tried using another weapon?!"

Sabrina paused, turning to look.

Outside the baker's, a small crowd stood surrounding a very frustrated-looking Lila. Lila dragged a hand down her face, not even looking at the people surrounding her. "It's not as bad as it sounds," she said, voice tense. "Just give me some time and I'll-"

"But there's _never_ been an animal that can best you!"

"Yes, I know, thanks-"

"You'll get it soon though, right, Lila? You took down a _bear_ single-handedly!"

" _Yes,"_ Lila said through clenched teeth. "I'm going to take it down soon, and I'll bring the meat and pelt back as soon as I do. But," she added in a harsh voice, raising her hand. "Until I take it down, you all must stay away from the forest, and be careful traveling the road. Okay?"

The villagers around her murmured in agreement, nodding amongst themselves. That would be easy enough; no one went into the forest itself except for Lila and other hunters or fishermen, and they hardly traveled out of town anyway. Nothing would suffer if they followed her advice.

Sabrina backed up a few paces as Lila excused herself and moved away from the crowd. This was her chance! She jogged after the huntress, parcels held tightly to keep them from dropping. "Lila! Excuse me, Lila!"

Lila whirled around, an irritated glare on her face, but it dropped once she saw who it was. "Oh, you're the Bourgeois girl's maid, right?" she asked. "I've seen you follow her when she goes into town," she added by way of explanation.

Sabrina nodded. "Y-Yes, that's me!" she said. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I haven't been able to leave the house lately, so I'm not sure... What was that about, just now? Is something happening?" Of course, she had an idea of what it was, given what she'd overheard, but she wanted to hear it straight from Lila's mouth.

Lila groaned, but Sabrina could tell it wasn't directed at her. She shook her head and adjusted the empty quiver on her back. "Have you been to town in the past few weeks?"

She shook her head, then paused. "Well, a few times," she admitted. "But I was never able to listen to any of the gossip. Chloè never permitted it."

Lila hmm'd in understanding. "Well, last week or so, some boys went into the forest to fish and came back completely terrified. They were talking about a huge, dark animal that nearly attacked them, with glowing green eyes. 'course, I figured it was just a wolf, but..." Her frown deepened. "I'm only telling you this because you don't know, and you deserve to, so you can stay safe, all right?"

Another nod.

"I found some strange prints in the forest, they're not wolf and they're not bear. And the way they're embedded in the earth suggests it's a pretty heavy animal at that. I don't know _what_ they are, but until I find whatever makes them and take them down, the forest is dangerous."

"Why's that?"

"An unfamiliar animal is _always_ dangerous. If you don't know what you're up against, you don't know how to protect yourself, or if you even _can._ And then there's what the boys were saying – that it'd attacked them. Most animals won't attack a human unless they're in its territory, but I haven't found any signs of a new animal marking any place..." Lila said, voice lower. She looked hard at Sabrina. "Tell your mistress not to travel the road at night, and both of you stay out of the forest. Tell the household that, too."

Sabrina nodded. "I'll have to tell Marinette when she comes back, though."

"Marinette? You mean the girl in red?"

"Uh-huh. She's in the city, visiting her parents."

"Well," Lila said, the corner of her mouth quirking up. "Hopefully I'll have this taken care of before she comes home."

* * *

The two girls parted ways soon after that, Sabrina to finish her errands and Lila to get something to eat. And now that she'd mentioned the boys earlier, she was thinking she should probably go reassure them again. Neither child had been physically harmed, according to the doctor who looked at them, but they'd been badly frightened.

She frowned as she went, feeling a little guilty for fibbing earlier. But she didn't want to alarm anyone more than they already were.

Because she'd _said_ she had no idea what kind of prints she'd been seeing in the forest, but that was untrue. She'd seen pictures of them in her books and animal guides, had seen smaller versions running out of rain puddles once or twice.

Those prints were _distinctly_ feline.

* * *

"Hey, Marinette!"

Marinette looked up from her doodling (which had turned into sketches of white butterflies on the page) to see Adrien in the entryway of the sitting room. This wasn't very unusual, none of it was. She'd been drawing and sketching since she'd arrived, just at different times of the day now. She often sat in the sitting room when she did, and Adrien would often come to see her during those times. And the expectant-looking smile wasn't so unusual either, not anymore.

She'd noticed him smiling a little more, anyway.

But what _was_ unusual was the net he was carrying, as well as a...fishing pole?

"Do you want to come with me?"

She really didn't need him to clarify what they were doing.

"Just me, huh?" she asked, feigning innocence as she closed her sketchbook and set it on the couch. "No one else?"

The happiness in his eyes dimmed a bit, and she fidgeted awkwardly, looking sideways. "Well, I could ask Tikki or Plagg if they want to come, but... Tikki's with Alya right now, and Plagg doesn't like getting wet. And the others-"

"Can't leave," Marinette finished, in a quiet voice.

Adrien started, his ears standing straight up and the fur on the back of his neck fluffing slightly. He stared at Marinette with wide, alarmed eyes. When Marinette stared back with a look that screamed at him not to lie, he looked away again, nodding.

"You figured it out," he said much later, when the two were moving through the forest together.

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, just recently," she admitted. "Rose couldn't move past the gates...and you said none of the others left the mansion in years." She turned to look at Adrien, who walked on two legs this time. "Why didn't any of you tell me? After seeing a gia- after seeing fairies, I don't think this would have been too hard to believe."

Adrien gave her a joyless smile. "We uhm..." His voice faltered, in a way that was starting to seem familiar to Marinette. It had the same feel to it that everyone's voices did when she asked about something, and they fumbled for an answer before evading her. Even now, as she waited, Adrien was looking at her, but not speaking. She could see he was trying; his mouth was opening but nothing was coming out, and every now and then he'd look away and chew on the inside of his cheek as if he was trying to think.

Suddenly it hit her.

Marinette halted, eyes widening. "You _can't_ tell me anything," she cried, "unless I already know!"

Adrien exhaled loudly, shoulders relaxing. "Yes." He looked back at her, his eyes showing a myriad of emotions. Marinette could only really pick out relief and happiness. "We can only talk about it with people who know about it, and if there's something you _don't_ know, we _can't_ tell you. Asking isn't the same as knowing, so if you ask us about anything we _still_ can't tell you."

"Urrrrrgh," Marinette groaned, pressing her hands against her shut eyes. "That's needlessly confusing. Whoever did that is a jerk."

"Whoever – you figured that part too?"

"Well, of course," she said, lowering her hands and looking at Adrien again. "This has to be someone else's doing, right? None of you would do this to yourselves." She went silent for a moment, frowning again. "Is this all I need to know? All I need to figure out about this?"

Adrien looked away.

"...it's not."

"No."

"There's a way to make everything right again, but I need to know more."

"Yes."

"But you can't tell me or give me any hints, I have to figure this on my own-"

"Right-"

"-and once I do figure this out-"

"Hey, Mari," Adrien interrupted. "Listen, I appreciate you want to help with this, but you know..." He swallowed. "You know you shouldn't feel obligated to? That we're not keeping you around just because I think you can help us, right? And...and you know that's not why I spend time with you?"

"Oh, I know that! Don't worry, I know – I just want to-"

Her words were cut off suddenly when Adrien suddenly held his arm out in front of her, nearly causing her to walk into it. She gave him an affronted look and he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Not to interrupt, but we're here."

"I don't see anything we haven't been seeing," she said, taking a look around. There was still thick trees, green everywhere, flowers, dappled sunlight filtering through the treetops...

"Oh, did I not mention? It was our secret spot before what happened, so..." Adrien moved his arm forward and reached across to part some bushes nearby. Marinette peered through the opening, and then her eyes went wide again.

The stream was quiet – literally, quiet. It was obviously flowing but she couldn't hear the water rushing or bubbling at all. It was wide enough for people to swim comfortably, but narrow enough to quickly make it to the other side. The sunlight sparkled like diamonds on the water's surface, and the greenery on either side of it was lush and vibrant. She could see berries growing on the other side, and shadows under the surface of the water that must be fish.

It was clear that Adrien and his friends had been here before, even if the others hadn't been in years. There were some forked branches set up on either side of the stream for supporting a fishing pole, and trampled grass in some spots where someone had walked or sat for a long time.

"I get some of our meat this way," Adrien said, allowing Marinette to walk through the bushes first before following her. "No one else knows how to get here, so I don't have to worry about being seen."

"Wait – you fish?" Marinette raised her eyebrows and glanced at the pole in his paws. Unbidden, an image of Adrien holding a tiny fishing pole in his paws popped into her head, and she had to bite back a laugh.

"Oh, the pole's not for me," he laughed. "That's yours. I have to do things a bit differently."

* * *

As much as Marinette enjoyed time with Adrien, she was quickly seeing why she never wanted to try fishing before.

The scenery was beautiful, yes, and the sun warmed her hair and shoulders, but fishing itself?

Was _boring._

Marinette sighed, adjusting the pole in her hands. It'd been about two hours, and she'd gotten a few bites – once or twice Adrien had to run over to stand behind her and help reel something in, which gave her some odd feelings she wasn't sure she wanted to think about yet – but aside from that, it'd been very dull. She found herself daydreaming more often than staring at the line, and wishing she'd brought her sketchbook with her. Or a game. Or something.

A splash at her side caught her attention, and she glanced over to see Adrien coming out of the water with another fish. In his mouth, comically enough.

It really wasn't helping her boredom when it looked like Adrien was having more fun than her. She didn't even care that he was getting his new clothes wet, at least it looked _entertaining,_ catching fish by snatching them out of the water.

With a sigh, she looked back to the water. At least this gave her some more time to think, she admitted to herself.

 _So here's what you know: they're under a spell, but can't talk about it. Only Adrien and the fairies can leave. Adrien is a giant cat and I don't know if he was born that way or not. Black butterflies are bad. I keep having dreams about the mansion, and sometimes white butterflies appear – no idea if they're good or bad._ She glanced sidelong at Adrien again, who had gone oddly still. _There's a chance the spell can be lifted, but I don't know how to do that. And whatever it is I have to do, it seems to make Adrien nervous._ At least, she assumed it had to do with lifting the spell. The way he'd asked if she knew that he didn't hang out with her just to make her break the spell, it sure sounded like it.

...how _did_ she lift it, anyway? There was clearly more than what she'd figured out, but seriously, how did she break the spell? Most fairy tales had impossible tasks; she hoped she wouldn't have to put on iron shoes and trek across a desert or something.

Maybe it had to do with Adrien. He did seem to want to stress that _he_ didn't spend time with her in hopes of her breaking the spell, maybe she had to do something to him. Or make him do something. Or-

Water suddenly splashed over her, and she screamed in shock.

Sputtering and frantically moving her wet bangs out of her eyes, she looked over to see Adrien in the water again, this time facing her and not looking for a fish. His eyes were gleaming, and she could tell by the way he was shaking that he was trying to suppress laughter.

Marinette gaped at him for a moment before glaring. She watched Adrien's amused expression falter as she rolled her sleeves up, removed her shoes, and stomped into the warm water towards him. She marched up to him...

And then suddenly bent down and splashed water towards him as well.

"Hey!" he cried, but she could tell it wasn't in anger. He was laughing even as he cried out, shaking his head quickly to get water out of his eyes. "Not fair – I only did it to make you stop thinking so hard!"

"Oh, really?"

"You looked so serious, I thought you might need to – AH!" he cried out again as Marinette sent another splash of water towards him.

"And _you_ need a taste of your own medicine," Marinette chuckled. Another splash. "That one's because I've been so bored."

The gleam was back in Adrien's eyes when he looked at her, hunching down slightly. "You do realize," he said slowly, "this means _war."_

Marinette shrieked – not in fear, never – and ran down the stream a few more paces in a mock attempt at escape. An instant later she felt a wave of water smack against her back, and she turned around to send one of her own. In seconds, the two of them had quite forgotten about their fishing, and were running around the stream, splashing water and shrieking with laughter. The sun made the water droplets look like gems, and it was so warm that they never felt cold.

At some point, Marinette's ribbons came loose and washed downstream, so her hair fell around her shoulders. Neither she nor Adrien cared that much, too focused on their game.

The fish were long scared away by the time they were _finally_ finished, but of course they didn't care about that either.

* * *

"Fishing, you said. _We'll be fishing,_ you said," Alya huffed, fingertips pressed to her temple as her eyes squeezed shut.

Marinette and Adrien stood in the doorway side by side, both wearing identical sheepish expressions, and both absolutely soaked. Already there were two puddles of water on the floor.

"What did you do, grab them out of the water like bears?!" Alya cried.

"Well..." Marinette began with a chuckle.

"Oh my _God,_ no. No, don't answer that. Marinette, we're getting you dried off before you get sick. Come on." Alya reached out and took Marinette by the arm, leading her further inside.

"What about-" Marinette began.

As soon as she was out of the danger area, Adrien shook some of the water off. Grinning at the sound of Marinette's shriek of laughter, he said simply "I'll be fine."

"Come on, Marinette," Alya said with a barely-contained groan. "Neither of us are mopping that up, by the way."

Both of them subdued a laugh as Marinette was led away. Before she turned the corner and left Adrien's sight, Marinette glanced back at him and mouthed something. _I had fun._

He smiled and mouthed back, _Me too._

Unnoticed, the two fairies at the end of the hallway exchanged looks.

* * *

As happy as the day had been, however, Marinette found something coming back to her that night. As she lay in bed, dried and warm with her hair fanning around her, she couldn't help but think something had been...

Well, not wrong per se, but something she should have commented on. Something was nagging at her.

It didn't help that she barely got any real sleep; every time she closed her eyes that night, she'd just barely begin to dream of white butterflies that whispered for her to help. Or to wake up. And when she did wake up, she found it was still nighttime and that nagging feeling had increased.

Finally, it hit her.

" _I get some of our meat this way."_

….oh no.

Without thinking, Marinette flung the covers back and ran to the window. She leaned towards it, cupping her hands around her eyes to see outside better.

Down below, a dark, familiar shape was loping across the yard. It paused at the gates, and Marinette could _very faintly_ see some glowing green, from where the light reflected in the thing's eyes. Her breath caught in her throat, and the creature moved quickly into the forest.

"Oh, Adrien..." she whispered.


	10. Of Hearts

**WARNING: Blood/potentially disturbing content at the beginning of this chapter.**

* * *

 _Marinette made her way through the forest, one hand out in front of herself for guidance in the dark. The moon was still out, but she could barely see anything. Maybe because of the treetops?_

 _She moved quickly, but quietly, scarcely daring to breathe too loudly._

 _There was a low, but constant noise somewhere up ahead. She didn't know what it was, really, but it sounded thick and wet. Occasionally, there would be the odd low growl mixed in with the wet noise, or a snapping sound._

 _All reason told her she should turn and run away, but her legs moved on their own, taking her deeper and deeper into the forest, closer to whatever was making that terrible sound. A cold breeze blew past her, and she held her robe tighter for warmth._

 _She paused, finding herself in the same place they'd fished the day before. She was standing in front of the bushes that hid the stream from view. The sound was louder, yes, and she could hear guttural growls more frequently than before. The sound itself had increased in frequency too - no longer was it a metronome, but now it was frenzied, frantic._

 _What was happening? What was this?_

 _Marinette stepped through the bushes, heart pounding in her ears-_

 _-and then she froze, a strangled gasp escaping as her heart stopped._

 _Because there in front of her was Adrien, his new clothes torn to bloody ribbons...but it wasn't his blood._

 _He lifted his head, turned to look at her. His eyes were wide, glowing green in the dark, and he looked at her with slitted pupils. They had no expression or recognition to them - he wasn't seeing her as a friend, he wasn't looking at her like Adrien anymore._

 _But the worst part, oh the worst part was that now Marinette knew what that noise had been._

 _In front of Adrien, between his tense, clawed paws, was a great and bloody carcass, so mangled and missing so much of itself that Marinette didn't know what it had once been. It sat in a pool of its own blood, Adrien's paws were coated in it, his jaw and face were covered in it and he opened his mouth and oh God Marinette could see pieces of the thing dangling between his teeth-_

 _"Adrien..." Marinette said, but it came out in a strangled gasp. Her legs weakened and gave beneath her, she collapsed to the floor, unable to do more but stare and shake in horror and try not to be sick._

 _The sound - she'd heard him eating this, she'd heard him eating like an animal, like-_

 _He growled, stepping over the carcass - the mangled, bloody, torn-apart carcass that had its entire rib cage exposed now that Marinette looked again - and the blood was trailing after him as he stalked towards her, and he wasn't truly Adrien anymore, he was-_

Marinette jolted upright, just barely keeping herself from screaming.

It took her a few seconds to realize where she was, her eyes still adjusting to the dark. She blinked a few times, noticing how sweaty she was, her hard her heart was beating, how her breathing was harsh and quick, like she'd just run a mile. Then she realized where she was; still safe in her room at the mansion.

She was not in the forest.

She was not in danger.

Adrien was not-

Her heart skipped a beat then. _Adrien..._

Marinette threw her covers off, nearly falling out of bed in her haste to get out. She ran out into the hall without stopping for a light, and half-ran half-fumbled her way to Adrien's room.

She didn't know what she'd see when she got there. She didn't know what she expected. All she knew was she had to get to him, she had to make sure he was all right, she had to-

She reached his door, struggled with the knob for a second, then flung the door open.

And a dark shape sat up from the middle of a bed. "Marinette?!"

The curtains were parted to let in the moonlight, and Marinette found herself stumbling into the room. Her legs, shaking with nerves and the sudden exertion, gave out beneath her. She fell forward, and then she was in Adrien's arms.

"Marinette," he whispered, clearly trying to sound calm despite the way his voice shook. "Mari, what's wrong? What is it?"

Marinette tried to catch her breath. She was still shaking, even her arms were trembling as she lifted them up to cling to Adrien's sleeves. She couldn't do anything for a few minutes, just sit there and tremble, trying desperately to keep her breathing under control. She blinked a few times and felt her eyes sting from it, felt warmth trickle down her cheeks.

She turned her head slightly to dash the tears away on his shirt.

His clean, fully intact shirt, she dimly realized.

She slowly began to realize something else. The rest of him was clean too. No blood. No fresh wounds. No mud, dirt, water, none of it. He smelled a little like night air, but he was still clean.

 _It wasn't real,_ she told herself as she finally began to calm back down. Her shaking lessened, her breathing evening out as she kept telling herself that. _It wasn't real. That wasn't real._

None of it was real. She'd never left the mansion, she wasn't in danger. Adrien wasn't a monster – his mind was still human, he was still _him._ She wasn't going to die, she was okay.

She was okay. _He_ was okay.

"Marinette?" she heard above her head.

Calmer now than she was before, Marinette was finally able to realize that Adrien hadn't let go of her once. He still held his arms around her, loosely so she could be secure but not confined, and one of his paws had been gently rubbing her upper back. It still was.

It was almost funny in a way, she realized. How she'd just...just barged into his room in the middle of the night (what time was it anyway?) and probably terrified him by having a breakdown in the middle of his room. And in her nightdress and with her hair loose and wild about her face. _What_ he must have thought!

And then she remembered why she'd run in here to begin with.

"You went to the forest," she blurted out, lifting her gaze to meet his eyes. When his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, she plowed on. "I _saw_ you – y-you went into the forest, you were on all fours and your eyes were glowing and- and I remember you and Mylene said you get meat and I _knew_ what you must have been doing and- and then I saw you – well not really it was a dream – but I was so scared, you looked like a _real animal_ down there and I just thought-"

"Mari! Mari, breathe, please!" Adrien cut her off in an anxious, pleading tone. His hands went to her shoulders, his eyes still anxious. Something else flickered in his expression, but it passed too quickly for Marinette to pin what it was. "You saw me?" he whispered.

Marinette nodded, wincing slightly as Tikki and Plagg hovered over, their glow bothering her eyes in the relative darkness.

"Mari?" Adrien pressed gently.

"I saw you," Marinette repeated, "going into the forest. You and Mylene both said you get meat for the mansion - and not just fish because you said that was _some_ of it-"

Adrien's eyes widened further, showing Marinette that he understood.

"And I just...I just..." Marinette ran a hand through her hair, making it more disheveled than it already was. Now that the terror of the nightmare was gone, now that her panic had died down, she was having trouble articulating what exactly bothered her.

How did you say ' _I had a bad dream'_ without sounding like a child? Her cheeks burned a little at the thought.

But Adrien didn't seem to be judging her. He just kept staring at her – not in amusement or shock, but concern – one paw stroking her hair in attempt to soothe her further. He said nothing, apparently waiting for her to speak.

"I...you seemed...not like you," she finished lamely. "Down there. A-And I kept...I guess I kept imagining you like a real animal out there, like one of the wolves, and it made me dream about...I th-thought you might..."

"You were scared." His voice was soft.

A nod.

"...of me?"

"No, no, not til the- no, I...it's hard to explain, I..." Marinette inhaled deeply, rubbing her arms. How did she put this? How did she put her feeling into _words?_ She glanced at Tikki and Plagg for help, but they just met her gaze. Tikki gently pinwheeled one of her arms in encouragement.

 _You're being ridiculous!_ Marinette finally told herself, groaning a little. _Out with it!_ "Adrien, do you hunt?" she blurted out. "Like – like the wolves?"

 _There_ it was. Comprehension dawned in his eyes, quickly giving way to a few other emotions in rapid succession. Shock, sadness, disbelief, panic...

"No. No, I _swear,_ Mari! Not like that!" he said in a rush.

"You said...when I first met you, properly met you, you said the forest was _your_ territory. You get meat, other than fish. What-"

"Mari – Mari, let me explain. Please. I understand what you're asking, I know why you'd worry about this, but let me explain myself."

Marinette nodded, waiting.

"I..." Adrien drew a shaky breath. "I do get meat. But I promise, I don't...once, I thought of it but I just couldn't, I – I wait. I wait for hunters to shoot something themselves, and I take it away. I swear, I've never killed anything in my life, I could never-!"

He sounded so panicked and afraid, and so desperate, that Marinette had to interrupt.

"I believe you," she blurted out, placing one hand on one of his arms.

She did, too. True, she'd seen him going to the forest. And true, there was that awful dream, but...

He didn't seem to be the type who _could_ do any of it, not in the waking world.

He was too kind for that.

And it just made her feel even sillier for panicking over her dream.

Something must have shown in her face, because Adrien was slowly calming again, rising to his feet and lifting her with him. "I...I do go out at night," he admitted. "I can't help that...but I don't do anything, I don't kill anything, Mari." Something else changed in his expression, and his ears lowered. "You kept saying you had a bad dream. Is that what you dreamed about?"

"It's stupid, I'm sorry, I just-"

"No. No, it's..." Adrien paused, looking away for a moment. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but then finally shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have told you about it. I-"

"It's not any of my business."

"You live here. You're my friend. It is your business."

Marinette looked down, staring at his chest instead of his face, feeling herself get a bit warm.

Then she felt cold as something else occurred to her.

" _I'm stronger and cleverer than any beasts in those woods!"_

"Adrien, can you not go out at night anymore?" she asked suddenly, meeting his eyes. "There's this hunter where I come from, and my village-"

"I'm careful, Mari. I'll be fine." He cocked his head a bit after he spoke, seeing something in her eyes. "But...if you're worried, all right. I can find something else to do."

Something else to do? Marinette opened her mouth to ask about it, but instead she yawned widely, a little tear in her eye from it.

Above her, she heard Adrien try – and fail – to hold back a laugh, and his paws squeezed her arms affectionately. "Okay...Do you feel okay enough to sleep again? It's almost dawn, so if you want to stay up a little longer-"

"No, I can sleep. But..." Marinette paused, frowning. The panic from the nightmare was mostly gone, but the thought of it...and the thought of going into the hallway in the pitch darkness again... And back to her pitch-dark room-

Adrien seemed to read her mind. "If you would like, you can go to the sitting room instead. There's always a fire lit, and if you want I can stay with you til you fall asleep?"

That would make her feel more like a child than she already did running to him because of a nightmare! Marinette's face turned red, and she quickly shook her head. "N-No, no need to go that far! Sorry, I'll- I'll see you in the morning, Adrien."

"Okay." He sounded...disappointed? "Sweet dreams this time, Mari."

"I'll go with her," someone suddenly spoke up. Marinette was stunned to see Plagg zipping over to hover by her face. "See you guys later. C'mon, kid." And he moved towards the door. Apparently Marinette wasn't going to spend much more time with Adrien tonight.

She cast a brief confused look at him, and he shrugged helplessly with a slight smile.

* * *

Adrien waited until they were alone, waited until he was _certain_ they were alone, before he let his legs give out.

He wasn't stupid. He was sleep-addled, a bit, but that had all vanished when he saw the look on Marinette's lovely face. She'd stumbled around her words, faltered a bit, but he'd eventually realized what she was trying to say. What she wasn't saying.

She wanted to know if he hunted like wolves...like a mindless animal.

She'd dreamed of him _acting_ like one.

He'd held onto that horror and sadness, hid it as best he could while Marinette was with him, but now that she was gone...he collapsed to the floor in the middle of his room, breathing heavily. Tikki rushed over to him. "Tikki," Adrien said in a low, dull voice before Tikki could speak. "What Marinette dreamed...would that have happened in reality at some point? Can it still happen?"

He remembered what had happened, shortly after the spell was cast.

How at night, he had this awful urge to steal out of the mansion and into the forest and _run and scream and yowl and claw-_

"No! No, Adrien, no..." Tikki was quick to assure him. But her voice was solemn, and he could tell that there was more about to be said. Sure enough, she looked away for a brief moment before facing him again and saying: "But...Hawk Moth intended for it."

Adrien looked up in alarm, blood running cold.

"But it won't happen!" Tikki cried, floating closer. "I promise you, Adrien, it's not going to happen – if it was, it would have a long time ago!"

"What do you mean...?"

Tikki drew a deep breath. "This particular enchantment is...a cruel one. It had been done several times in the past, enough so we fairies finally had to hide ourselves from most of humanity. Only a select few chosen humans knew where our artifacts were and how to use our magic," she added with a tiny smile. "Your family among them..."

Adrien's eyes widened a fraction, but he didn't interrupt.

"The spell Hawk Moth placed on you was...meant to immediately transform one's outside, but gradually transform their mind. If he'd had his way, over the years you would have slowly...regressed," she said weakly. "Please tell me to stop whenever you need."

"No...No, I'm all right."

"Slowly, your mind would have become less human...within a few years, you would have become a full animal. I think Hawk Moth found the idea of this funny."

Adrien found himself recalling what the sorcerer had said that awful night. _"This should be more entertaining."_

He felt sick at the thought. That man had cursed a _child_ with this, and thought it'd be _entertaining._

"But he didn't account for a few things," Tikki was saying, snapping Adrien's attention back to her. A tiny, rueful smile was on her face as she regarded Adrien.

"What things?"

"Your friends, surrounding you with their humanity so you would keep your own all the easier. You weren't in complete, full isolation, you had your friends by your side to remind you who you were.

"And yourself. Your heart is too strong to fall to his whims so easily, Adrien Agreste. I think that no matter what he did to you, even if you were alone, you would keep going. You would still have your self."

Adrien stared wordlessly, prompting Tikki to chuckle.

"There was more than one reason Plagg and I were drawn to you, you know. Your family has always had strong, kind, noble hearts. Why do you think the two of us never left you, even when one of our trusted humans hid our artifacts away?" She smiled gently, and Adrien could almost hear the unspoken ' _ **Before**_ _we knew you personally.'_

"You never did anything beyond running wild a few times, did you?"

"No, never!" he cried.

It was true. And even when he did go out, he still kept his mind.

He'd seen campers. Deer. Small prey. The animals he'd left alone, the campers he'd spot and go far, far away. Not once had he been tempted to use his claws or teeth on them.

If Hawk Moth's spell had gone how he'd wanted, Adrien realized, he would not have been the only one suffering.

"I think it will stay that way," Tikki assured him. "Though I also hope you won't be like this for much longer."

Adrien gave a rueful laugh. "Always the optimist..." he whispered.

"You don't think Marinette can break the spell?"

"I've never considered it," he said dully. He couldn't help but wonder if Tikki was deliberately changing the subject, but at the moment he didn't care. "And even if she can, Marinette's my friend...I can't ask her to try, I can't force her to try – even if I could tell her the truth, I couldn't. It'd make me a _real_ monster, don't you think? And Mari – she'd wonder if our friendship was really genuine or not, and think I was just using her. I can't do that to her."

Tikki's smile was slight, and sad. "You're a good boy, Adrien Agreste," she sighed. "But you can be a little slow at times."

"What do you-"

"It's late and you've only been asleep for three hours. Back to bed now!"

Fairies, Adrien decided as he begrudgingly obliged, were sometimes impossible to talk to.

* * *

Marinette didn't expect a pitch-black fairy to be much of a guide in the dark, but she was surprised to find she was wrong. Plagg's bright green eyes burned bright, even in the darkness. A bit unnerving, but a handy light.

Though she did have to wonder, why _he_ of all fairies was going with her. Didn't he hate her?

He probably wanted to slip in a few snide comments, she realized. Or nip at her fingers before she fell asleep. Or tease her for being such a baby, she thought with a nod. Yeah, that was probably it.

So she braced herself when she heard him take a deep breath.

"I take it all back."

She stopped. Luckily by this point they were already in the sitting room (where a little fire still burned, nearly to the embers) so it didn't matter. "What?" she said slowly, not sure she heard correctly.

Plagg turned around, his eyes half-lidded. "I said I take it back. All of it. Now don't ask for an apology 'cause I hate that stuff."

Marinette gaped.

Plagg just sighed, awkwardly floating over and patting her on the nose. "You're a good kid," he admitted. And then he zipped off again, leaving Marinette alone to wonder just what on earth had happened.

Fairies, she decided, were very weird.

Outside the window, a black butterfly hovered about.


	11. Certain as the Sun

In the mountains, a man crushed a black butterfly in his palm as the vision of a far-off town faded from before his eyes.

The sorcerer's patience was worn _quite_ thin.

He grit his teeth, doing his best not to yell in anger. Years of searching for the other fairies, years of trying to track down those damned trinkets...he had been so close to the ring, to the green-eyed fairy, once. But he'd been _just_ too late. _Just_ a few days and he had lost it all over again.

That damned lord may have pitched it into the sea for all he knew.

...curse those Agrestes, honestly. The whole line had been nothing but trouble. They could never even use fairy magic properly. It was only right that someone should steal it from them.

Even their children were too willful and arrogant, he thought, reminded of the no-longer-boy from long ago. Ah, but that was alright, he'd taught _that one_ a lesson.

Whoever was hiding the trinkets and fairies was doing a fine job of it, to keep him on this goose-chase for seven years.

He felt the fairy in his brooch flutter, and pressed his fingers against the smooth stone. The fairy stilled.

Another black butterfly flew towards him.

The sorcerer held his hand out. "What did _you_ see?" he asked.

The view from the mountains shimmered and changed.

 _He saw the monster he'd created, on the floor in a dejected heap._

 _He couldn't help feeling a swell of pride in the sight._

 _And then his heart stopped when he saw a red light – a **fairy –** hover beside him. She spoke to him, reassuringly-_

 _-he was angered all over again. The boy had a fairy and he was using her – with all her magic! - as a damned **mother figure?** A therapist?! He could do so much more with her, if he could only seal her away-_

The fairy at his throat fluttered frantically. He ignored it and kept focusing on the vision, a feminine voice floating into his ears-

" _Your heart is too strong to fall to his whims so easily."_

What?

 _The vision rippled, threatening to dissolve in his anger. He tried to keep calm, watching and listened as the fairy inadvertently revealed his failure to him._

 _The boy was not suffering. He was not truly being punished._

 _This could not do._

 _The vision moved, past the boy's window. Stone and wood moved past as the butterfly flitted to another window, and then he saw the new maiden. She stood in the sitting room, confused as she stared down the empty hall. With a shake of her head, she moved to the couch to curl up and sleep._

He recalled how animal-like the young man had seemed in the last vision. He was more human now. Had he always been that way, as the fairy said, or...

His hand clenched into a fist. Or had it been the work of the girl?

It didn't matter. His spell was only half-working. The boy wasn't being _truly_ punished for his pride, his unwillingness to cooperate, for the misuse of a fairy's magic...

He had to find another way.

No, more than that. He ought to just get rid of him.

If the spell wasn't even taking effect, what was the point in keeping him _alive?_

" _You can't!"_ the fairy's voice rang in his head. It was the first time in years that he'd spoken. _"You can't, the laws of-!"_

The sorcerer sent a spark of magic into the brooch, silencing his slave. "I _know_ about your laws," he snarled. "But they don't matter..." He held out his hand, and created another black butterfly. Holding it to his face, he whispered to it, "Find out where the girl lives. Find everything you can. Report back to me."

With a sweep of the man's arm, the butterfly was off.

It may take time, he thought, but it would be worth it in the end.

He'd waited seven years. He could wait a few days or weeks more...

* * *

Marinette sat outside, lazily doodling in her sketchpad.

She had a nice view, she thought to herself as she glanced up. Where she was, she could see the rose gardens, and a glimpse of the forest beyond. She could clearly see Rose and Juleka as they walked together (and Marinette couldn't help the pang in her heart as she considered _why_ they could only go this far for a walk) and wave at them as they passed.

They really looked nice in her dresses, she thought to herself as they passed by again. Rose in her namesake, of course, and Juleka in a rich plum color. Rose's sleeves were much shorter than Juleka's wrist-length, and Juleka had a sweetheart neckline while Rose had a square, but both of the skirts were long enough to gently brush over the grass. Rose's clothing had a few cloth rosebuds sewn around the bodice and waist, and Juleka had a black bodice with an small floral pattern. They almost looked like nature fairies, Marinette thought to herself, squinting and tilting her head. Rose more so than Juleka, of course, but-

She shrugged that thought off and turned a page in her sketchbook. She picked up her charcoal and began to make swift, broad swipes. Her mind drifted as she began to sketch without really thinking about it.

It had been a rather peaceful few days. She hadn't had any more nightmares, nor had she any more odd dreams about disembodied voices in the mansion.

She'd been initially worried about the possibility of Adrien avoiding her, after she'd burst into his room in the middle of the night over a bad dream. But that had proven to be unfounded the next morning, when he greeted her just as normal. He didn't behave any differently around her the rest of the day, in fact.

That night, Marinette watched intently from her window. When she failed to see anything leaving the mansion and heading to the forest, she finally allowed herself to relax and admit things were still okay between them.

Which, she realized with an odd feeling in her chest, was much more of a relief that it probably should have been.

"What'cha drawing~?" came a playful voice over her shoulder.

"AH!" Marinette yelped, nearly dropping her sketchbook as she turned her head.

There was Alya, bent at the waist with her hands resting on her knees through her sweeping burgundy skirt, the breeze ruffling her white peasant top just slightly. Her mischievous smile widened as she kept staring at the sketchbook. "More designs?"

"No," Marinette chuckled sheepishly, loosening her grip on the book. "No, I- hey! Alya!"

Alya had plucked the book from her grasp, a playful smirk on her face. "Come on, can't I see before you make them?~" she sing-songed.

"They're not designs!" Marinette laughed, face turning pink. "I was just doodling, I wasn't even paying attention! Now give me that back!"

"Doodling? Doodling wh- oh..." Alya's smile faded as she glanced at the page at last. This response gave Marinette pause, standing there with her hand slightly out towards her book. Alya slowly frowned, touching the page before looking up at Marinette. "How did you...?" she began, before looking at the book again and shaking her head.

Now Marinette was really worried. "What? What'd I draw?" She snatched the book away from Alya – who easily relinquished it – and looked at the page.

She felt herself turning red again.

Sketched out on the page was the boy in the garden. The one from her dream.

The lines were rough and coarse, a bit disconnected, but they still formed him. His hair was still vaguely-messy, windblown as he looked at something off the page. She hadn't seen his eyes in her dream, but here she'd drawn them anyway – warm, kind, and curious, seeming to sparkle even in charcoal. His expression was neutral, but there was a slight curve to his lips, as if he were just about to smile at something.

There were no shadows to the sketch, and it gave the impression that he was illuminated, bright and shining.

For some reason, looking at it made Marinette's heart stutter. Especially when she looked at the eyes again and realized – to her dismay – she must have been modeling them after Adrien's eyes.

"It's nothing, I was just – I wasn't thinking, I was just moving my hand," she blurted out, closing the sketchbook with a snap. "And this just – appeared. That happens sometimes. You know, artist problems – d-did you need something?" She was rambling and she was aware of it. She forced herself to stop, clamping her mouth shut and willing for the blush to leave her face.

Alya stared at the sketchbook a moment longer, that odd look still on her face. "Yeah, I was..." She seemed to want to say something again, but then shook her head and sighed. "Yeah, Adrien was looking for you. He's over at the front entrance."

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette forced out, still embarrassed. Before the situation could get any more awkward, she hurried off, face still burning.

It wasn't until she was halfway to the sitting room that she wondered why Alya had looked at the drawing so oddly.

* * *

She could hear whispering as she moved towards the front door. She couldn't make out what was being said, but they sounded excited.

The voices halted just as she turned the corner, and she saw Adrien standing in the open doorway, the fairies hovering at his eye-level. He turned towards Marinette with a smile. "Did Alya tell you I was here?"

"Yeah, she did," Marinette said with a smile of her own. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked from Adrien to Tikki (who was covering her mouth, smiling excitedly) and Plagg (who met her gaze easily, albeit looking like a cat who'd swallowed a canary...which was actually a rather fitting analogy, come to think it). "What're you talking about over here?"

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Tikki laughed. "You two should get going!"

"Going?" Marinette frowned. "Where?"

Adrien looked a little flustered. "Oh...Alya didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"You're going to the forest again," Plagg said before Adrien could say anything. He folded his bitty arms over his chest. "But not to fish this time. We've still got plenty of that."

"Then why-"

"We need berries!" Tikki blurted out. "Lots of blueberries! And you two are the only ones who can get some!"

"Oh, really?" Marinette asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well, if that's the case...why do we need blueberries?"

"No time for questions, go on, you two! Go, go, go!" she cried, practically shooing Marinette out the door.

Marinette cast Adrien a bemused look that only make him laugh. Without another word, he reached for her hand, and they were off.

* * *

Marinette loved the forest during the daytime.

She tilted her head back a bit, breathing in the scent of greenery and flowers all around her. The dappled sunlight made pretty patterns on the ground, trees, her skirts, Adrien... Actually, now that she looked at him again, the sunlight also caught his eyes in a nice way that she hadn't noticed the last time.

It was nice, she decided, he really _ought_ to be walking freely like this, rather than hiding in the bushes and darkness like when they'd first met.

She cleared her throat, smiling. "All right," she began. "What's going on?"

"Hm?"

"Really? Getting me out of the mansion? Into the forest, with no real reason for it? The whispering and smiling?" She narrowed her eyes, but the playful expression remained. "What are you planning?"

" _Me_? Planning something?" Adrien's tone was just as playful as her own. He placed a paw on his chest, eyes wide in mock scandal. "Why would you say that?"

"Hmmmm, Tikki's desperation to get us to leave, we're just wandering aimlessly instead of looking for berry bushes...and oh, there isn't a basket either," Marinette said, gesturing to their empty hands with a smile.

They stared at each other in silence before Marinette's laughter broke it. Adrien lasted only a second longer than she did, covering his mouth with a paw and turning his face slightly toward the ground. "O-Okay," he finally managed to say. "Okay, we did want you to leave the mansion."

"Because...?" Marinette prompted, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning towards Adrien.

He just grinned, eyes sparkling a bit. "It's a surprise." He laughed again when Marinette pouted at him. "Sorry, Mari, but I'm sworn to secrecy!"

"You sure you're _just_ sworn to keep it a secret? You're sure you didn't have _some_ hand in this?" Marinette teased.

Adrien's grin widened. "Maybe."

More laughter.

They walked in comfortable silence after that. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement; if they obviously weren't here to pick berries, they might as well just take a walk.

Without a real destination in mind, Marinette could enjoy the scenery a little bit more, too. And with the knowledge of Lila still in the back of her mind, she found herself noting just how thick a lot of the trees and foliage really were. Adrien could hide in there, easily, if he ever went out at night again.

...of course, he'd promised not to again, but just in case-

-either way. He'd be safe.

The thought made a weight vanish from Marinette's heart, and she couldn't help but sigh in relief. She was more worried about this than she'd thought.

The noise caught Adrien's attention. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing. A lot of things." Marinette shrugged, smiling wryly.

"Do you want to tell me about any of them?" The light teasing tone was back.

"It's nothing you haven't heard from me before. And the others probably aren't even that interesting."

"Try me."

"Well..." Marinette paused, mind whirring. She could comment on what was _really_ on her mind – how it was a little funny that she'd initially come here to try and find out why she was dreaming on the mansion, why she kept hearing someone – two someones, now that she considered it – asking for help. How she'd come here fully preparing for a mystery and to find someone.

And how now...now she was staying here because she wanted to. Because she enjoyed everyone's company too much. Because she felt appreciated, felt like she was part of a group here.

Because she liked _Adrien's_ company.

Because she didn't want to leave. And she didn't want to leave _him._

Because, honestly...she was considering writing her parents with the truth and quitting her position as Chloé's dressmaker.

She could mention how she sometimes still thought of Adrien's promise – that he could help get her name out there where Chloé and her father were unable to.

She could mention the dream, and the boy, and how spooked Alya had been when she'd seen the picture. How she wondered _why._ Did Alya know him? Had he lived in the mansion before, and somehow managed to get out?

But she didn't mention any of that.

 _Especially_ not the part about Adrien and how she liked being with him. It was probably crossing a line she was really not sure should be crossed yet.

She shook her head, frowning. "Never mind. I'll tell you later." She looked up to see Adrien giving her a Look. "I mean it!" she laughed. "Everything's just...there's a lot on my mind and I can't pull any of it apart yet. But I promise, when I do pick them apart, I'll talk about it."

"Really?" Adrien raised a brow, but he was still smiling a bit.

"Really. I mean, of course I'll tell _you_ about it," Marinette said without thinking. "You're one of my best friends."

Adrien's eyes widened and he halted right then and there. For a second, Marinette was afraid she'd crossed a line anyway. Was she not supposed to say that? Did he not like her as much as she liked him?

But those thoughts ceased when Adrien looked away for a second, then back at her with a tiny smile that she would almost call 'shy.' "Thanks, Mari," he said quietly. "You're one of my best friends too."

Another weight was lifted, and Marinette let herself smile again. "Sooo, then can you tell your _best friend_ what's the big secret? The one that requires getting me out of the mansion?" she elaborated when he gave her an odd look.

"Ohhhh, I see, you're just trying to butter me up! It won't work, sorry – you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Then it's only fair that I get to _not_ tell you what I'm thinking. You keep one secret, I keep one."

"It's a _surprise,_ not a _s_ _ecret!"_

The pair were enjoying each others company too much to notice where they were walking.

Or what they were walking past.

Finally, the sun began to set, and Adrien said they could start heading back, that everything ought to be okay at home now. On their way back, Marinette found herself leaning towards him more, until she dared to take his arm. Adrien froze for a second, but allowed himself to relax and lead her back, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was hammering in his chest.

He would worry about this tomorrow, he decided.

* * *

In the evening, a young woman slowly made her way through the forest, bow and arrow at the ready. She was silent, holding her breath as she looked around.

The thing that made the tracks had not been taken out yet. She couldn't stop going out until it had.

A rustle in the bushes! Lila whirled around, pulling the arrow taut...

...only to see a black butterfly fluttering around some bushes. It landed on a leaf, causing the entire branch to rustle slightly.

She cursed, lowering the arrow. "How the hell can a butterfly make that much noise?" she grumbled. She turned back around, scanning the area. Great, now she had to determine what was a butterfly and what was her prey.

At least she was close, she knew. There were prints, some fresh and some old, but they were around here. The creature had been here, it might still be here.

She stopped again, seeing something on the ground. Lowering the arrow, she moved closer. It was too still to be an animal, but the way it caught the light, the way it sagged slightly, it couldn't be a rock either... She knelt down and picked the thing up.

A basket. From one of the berry-pickers? But this basket was empty...

Lila turned it over in her hands absently, but the moonlight caught a glimmer of something red. She squinted and turned the basket again, waving away the butterfly that hovered over her shoulder. At closer inspection...it was a word. Someone had cleverly used thread to embroider something on the basket itself.

"Marinette..." she mumbled to herself, reading it aloud.

Marinette...that was the girl who worked for Chloé, yes? The one who'd gone to see her family a few weeks ago. But what was her basket doing here?

Lila lowered the basket again- and her blood ran cold. On the ground near where the basket had been lying were more tracks.

There were tracks, Marinette's basket, but no other sign of Marinette...and nobody had seen her in weeks.

Which meant...

" _No..."_ she whispered.


	12. So Close

"Nope, nope, not in here! You are _banned_ from going down this hallway!"

"Okay, really now," Marinette laughed, running a hand through her hair. "I can't help in the kitchen, I can't go down to the sitting room, I can't go into _my_ room... What's this big secret?"

"What secret?" Alya teased, a gleam of mischief in her eyes. When Marinette folded her arms and gave her a _Look_ , Alya only laughed. "Okay, okay, I'm kidding – but you can't find out til sunset."

"Sunset, great, that gives me...what, two hours of just sitting outside in the gardens?"

"Not just the gardens," Nino said as he walked by with Ivan, both of them carrying some small boxes. "You can go to the forest and storage room too, if you want," he added with a cheeky smile, laughing as Alya playfully batted at his shoulder.

"I don't mind if you go to the kitchens," Mylene said just then. She peered over Alya's shoulder, apparently having come to see what was keeping her 'assigned partner' so long. "It's her _room_ she has to stay far away from."

"Okay, _seriously?"_

A heavy, familiar touch landed on Marinette's shoulder, and she looked up to see Adrien's gentle green eyes staring down at her. "Come on," he said with a laugh. "Let's walk. I'll explain on the way."

" _Not everything, you won't!"_ came Alya's voice as the two turned and left.

"Not everything!"

Marinette waited until she and Adrien were at the front entrance to laugh, covering her mouth with one hand. "Okay, I'm dying of curiosity," she admitted. "What's going on? Can't be a _big_ secret, if you can explain _some_ of it to me."

Nothing like the one they were forbidden to talk about on their own, apparently.

Adrien smiled, his eyes lighting up a bit. "It's a thank-you," he said. "For the new clothes and for everything else."

"Everything else?" Marinette's brow furrowed, then her eyes widened. "Wait, but no one has to thank me, I didn't do all that for praise-!"

"I know. We all do," said Adrien. "But...they wanted to anyway. Do something nice for you. Since you got here, it's been a little..." He waved his paw in a circle, searching for the right word. "You know the others can't leave the mansion. But since you got here, a new face, someone from 'the outside,' it's really cheered them up. More than I ever could."

 _Because they're worried about you,_ Marinette couldn't help but think.

"So they're putting a party together. And that's all I'm allowed to say."

"Aw, can't you tell me more?"

"Nope."

"Aren't you my friend?" Marinette teased. "It'd be _friendly_ to tell me!"

The word 'friend' gave her pause, even as she said it. It didn't quite feel _right._ Not that she disliked Adrien, far from it, but it felt was if 'friend' was too little a word to describe him.

She supposed that made sense. She'd called him one of her _best_ friends the day before... Perhaps that was it.

"You'll find out when you go to your room," he chuckled. A glance up at the sky. "In about an hour and a quarter, give or take."

"We haven't been in the gardens _that_ long!"

Adrien's smile was a bit coy. "No," he admitted. "But you'll need the time to get ready."

The time flew remarkably quick in the gardens. Then again, they didn't spend their _entire_ time there to begin with. Adrien walked with her around the perimeter of the mansion, which shaved off a lot of time, and kept her occupied with conversation.

Nothing he didn't normally do already, but Marinette was okay with that. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about anyhow, and she found that even when they were silent, she enjoyed having him with her. So, she felt, the time would probably be flying even if they were in complete silence.

The sky was just beginning to turn pink when a window above them opened, and Rose called down for them to come inside. Marinette was free to go to her room at last, and they'd already-

"A bath?" Marinette asked her once she stepped into her room. "Are you saying I smell?"

"No, never!" Rose cried, looking genuinely horrified. At her side, Juleka chuckled quietly. Realizing only then that Marinette had been teasing, the blonde relaxed and shook her head. "No, no, you just need to bathe first! This is a _special_ party, you have to be as nice as possible!"

A _special_ party. Have to look _nice._ Marinette's heart skipped a beat, a sudden bout of nerves striking.

Why, she wondered.

It...it was only Adrien.

She kept telling herself that as she sank into the rose-scented water, scrubbing at her hair. She told herself that as she dried off, as she opened the door that led back into her room. It was only Adrien, her friend, she saw him every day, even if she was looking nice for him, it was no big deal.

As nice as she could look, anyway, in her apron and-

Her gaze fell upon her bed, and her breath hitched.

There, spread on the covers, was a beautiful red dress. It was the same color as a vivid rose, and clearly made of expensive material. She almost didn't dare to touch it!

But she did, cautiously approaching it and resting her palm over the flowing skirt. Now that she looked closer, she could see the details and the style better. The bodice was form-fitting, and – rather scandalously – had no sleeves or straps. Along the sweetheart neckline were tiny diamonds, gleaming like dewdrops against the petal-soft fabric. The full skirt was bunched and ruffled in various places, so that it looked almost like a rosette itself, dotted here and there with more gleaming diamonds. Not enough to be obnoxious, but enough to make her look...

"Do you like it?" came a whisper at her ear. Marinette turned to see Tikki hovering over her shoulder, a maternal warmth in her smile.

"I – I can't wear something like this, can I?" choked out Marinette.

"Why not? Adrien chose it."

"Because I- it's clearly meant for- Adrien chose this?" she whispered.

"Well, not this exact one," Tikki admitted. "And we did have a teensy bit of mending to do. But when everyone decided to have this party, and we learned you didn't have a special dress, Adrien insisted on a red one. And this was the one he thought you would like best. You do like it, do you?"

"Well, yes, I do but-!" Marinette glanced down at the dress, then at Tikki again. "Where did you get this?"

"A few were still hanging up from when his parents lived here."

 _His parents?_ But this dress wasn't made for a cat-creature, it was made for a woman. A _human_ woman...

"I admit, mending it was tricky. Especially since we here at the mansion don't know much about sewing," the fairy admitted sheepishly. "But we were in luck! The damage was very minimal, and we at _least_ know how to patch things up. Your luck seems to be rubbing off onto us, Marinette!"

But Marinette was still stuck on the dress. "Tikki...this is something for a princess. I can't wear something this special."

Tikki just smiled. "You're a princess tonight, Marinette," she said. "And believe me, you're as good _as_ a princess."

Marinette looked back at the dress, something stirring in her heart.

 _It's only Adrien...It's only Adrien..._ she told herself.

* * *

She tried to keep telling herself that as Tikki led her down the hall, which was now rather dimly lit with only a few warm-looking lamps to light the way. She was surprised to find she only had to lift her skirt a little, as it barely brushed the floor, not even slightly hindering her movement.

She'd finally been convinced to put the dress on when Tikki had pointed out that everyone was waiting for her. She still wore her sensible shoes, but they would not be visible beneath the flowing fabric of the skirt. Her hair was loose about her shoulders, and Tikki had somehow managed to procure a red ladybug-shaped clasp to pin back her bangs, tiny red earrings, and a simple gold chain necklace.

They were simple pieces, she'd said as she helped Marinette with the chain's clasp, but they allowed her inner beauty to shine all the more.

Marinette felt a _tiny_ bit silly, being so dressed up, but she did have to admit, she did _sort of_ like being dressed up. She only hoped she wasn't _over-_ dressed.

"Marinette!" A blur of pink rushed over to her as soon as she entered the room, and Rose grabbed her hands excitedly, her eyes shining. "You look _beautiful!"_

"Thanks, Rose," Marinette said, inwardly relieved that she wasn't the only one dressed up. Rose was wearing a pink full gown herself, a little less fancy than Marinette's, but not _obviously-_ so. It seemed she wasn't the only one wearing something raided from a closet. "You look great!"

Rose smiled, blush rising to her cheeks. "Thank you so much! I-"

"Rose, let her in," Alya laughed from deeper in the room.

"Right, right! Come on, Marinette!" Rose seized Marinette's hand with one of her own, using her other hand to lift her white skirts a bit as she led her to the sitting room.

The room wasn't _completely_ transformed – just given a bit of polish and embellishments, much like everyone's hair and attire. That was good, Marinette couldn't help but think, at least she wouldn't feel completely awkward.

The lights were dimmed just a bit, so there was a warm gold glow in the room. Depending on the location of the window, the curtains were either drawn to keep the light in, or open to grant a view of the darkening sky and twinkling stars. Everything that could conceivably be dusted had been, the floor was cleaner than usual, and the windows had been cleaned so well that Marinette wasn't entirely sure there was still glass in them.

They had no vases, but that didn't stop them from setting small bunches of roses on the surfaces of the table and mantle for decoration. Marinette found this had a charm all its own. The table was set for tea, but the dishes were more numerous and varied than usual; and none of it healthy.

Alya caught Marinette staring at the sheer number of cookies and small cakes, and winked.

The sight made Marinette laugh, and what remained of her nervousness melted away as she joined the rest of the group around the table, sitting next to Adrien without thought. It stayed that way as everyone began eating and joking around, as if this were just another ordinary day.

"This is _much_ better than the boring parties I used to go to," Juleka later said, after swallowing her tea.

"What happened at those?" asked Marinette.

"Less than this," Adrien said from her left. "Here we're actually sitting and _talking to each other._ At the others-" he stood up to illustrate his point and bowed to Ivan, "it's _hello, m'lord, good to see you again,_ and _don't sit down, it sends the wrong message to the host,_ and _yes yes, the weather is quite lovely."_

Marinette couldn't hold back her snort of laughter.

"You did not talk about the _weather,"_ Nino laughed.

"No, but Father did."

A ripple of laughter passed through the group at that, even though Marinette couldn't help but feel odd about what was said.

(A dress made for a woman like herself. Talk of parties – fancy kind that nobility and wealthy attended...)

"And the dancing- all carefully planned out and you can't refuse a dance with anyone or sit one out without looking rude."

Mylene shank into her seat a bit. "I hated that!"

"Well, lucky for you," Nino said, and Marinette suddenly noticed he had produced a violin from the box at the side of the sofa. "You can sit out if you want to here."

"You play?!" Marinette gaped.

Nino smirked. "I play a lot of things." And he closed his eyes, and drew the bow across the strings. A long, slow note sounded...and then he leaned forward, moving the bow faster to play a fast, cheerful melody.

That seemed to be a cue. Rose squealed and hopped off her seat, dragging Juleka along with her. Mylene and Ivan glanced at one another before rising, and Alya stood up as well. She didn't go to the open space of the room like the others did, merely get more food, but Marinette saw her shoulders swaying to the music.

And then she saw a familiar paw held out to her. "May I?"

"I've never danced," Marinette admitted, even as she slipped her hand into his. "I'm just a dressmaker, I wasn't expected to-"

"That's all right. It's easy." Adrien walked Marinette to the space that'd been cleared for this very night, careful so he didn't step on her skirt. "Don't think about steps, just do what feels right and move your feet. No one's judging, you don't have to impress anyone."

 _I feel I want to impress you,_ Marinette thought unbidden.

Her first steps were nervous, awkward. Despite Adrien's assurances for her to relax, she found herself tense and anxious, gripping his paw a little too tight. She only loosened her hold when she considered she might be hurting him.

But gradually, the jauntiness of the song relaxed her, and she forgot herself and everyone but Adrien. Her feet moved faster, easier in time to the melody. She felt herself being turned around, guided a little towards this way or that as she started to unconsciously move around the room. Every time it looked like she would bump into something, or someone, Adrien would carefully move her away, never once making her feel silly or inexperienced.

Not that she would have noticed if she did. All she could focus on was the music, her own occasional laugh, and the way Adrien was smiling at her.

"I told you it was easy," he chuckled.

"Well don't you know everything," Marinette teased back.

Slowly, the fast-paced melody slowed, and her feet slowed with it. Which was something of a relief, as she was starting to feel a bit winded; at least this could give her time to breathe. She sighed in relief, leaning forward a little-

-and that was when she noticed the position she and her partner were in.

The slowness, the new tone of the music, had inspired them to move closer to one another, so when she leaned forward, her head bumped against his chest. Her eyes widened, heart speeding up a little – not in fear, she realized, but in something else. Something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to name yet.

Adrien's gentle grip on her tightened just a little, enough to be reassuring.

Marinette closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and found herself continuing to move. It was still easy.

( _One two three... one two three...one two three...)_

"You're still wearing your usual clothes," she murmured, mind blanking on anything else to say.

Adrien looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I don't have anything else that fits – and I can't shred my father's old clothes."

 _His father had a man's body too..._ Marinette realized.

"I should have made you something."

"You didn't know about this. It's fine. Besides," he added, his eyes gleaming a little. "This is about you, not me. You're the guest of honor."

Marinette flushed, but laughed a little.

 _(One two three...one two three...)_

"I want to thank you," Adrien continued, voice low. "For everything you've done for us. The fairies. Me. You...you mean a lot to me, Mari," he whispered. "I'm really...I'm really glad I met you."

Again with her damn heart skipping beats.

"You mean a lot to me too," she said back.

And before she lost her nerve, she moved closer to him, to properly rest her head against him as they danced. She had her head turned to the side, deliberately avoiding looking at him, but she could feel his own heart speeding up too. And she was certain he could feel her own.

She thought she should be wondering about what this was all about. If there was something wrong with her – she wasn't a complete foolish fool, she had an idea of why she felt so light, giddy tonight. But Adrien wasn't...

No, she thought, closing her eyes. No, he wasn't 'not human.'

Cat creature or no, he was one of the kindest, gentlest people she'd ever met. She had no qualms with calling him a _person._

That was who he was, appearance and body be damned.

The music tapered out, the slow descending silence making them stop dancing. Nino fell back against his seat, exhaling. "Sorry," he called. "Break time!"

Even as she laughed, Marinette noticed how reluctant she felt leaving Adrien's arms.

Perhaps they could do this again later.

* * *

In front of the Bourgeois home, a small crowd had gathered. The master of the house, his daughter and her maidservant stood in the door, Lila in front of them, and in front of _her..._

"No, no, it can't be!"

Lila's heart broke as the foreign woman fell to her knees in the middle of the road, covering her face and sobbing. Her husband reached for the ruined basket with shaking hands, taking it from Sabrina as if it were a priceless treasure. Sabrina blinked back tears herself, and even Chloé still looked horrified.

"She...she only left a few weeks ago..." Chloé whispered, so low that only Lila and Sabrina could hear. "She was only going to the city to see her father...she said so, she was _fine_ then..."

"It's your fault!" Sabrina sobbed, covering her face. "I-If you hadn't sent her to the forest the night before-"

" _She wasn't killed then, you fool!"_

"-then the monster wouldn't have seen her! He wouldn't have – h-have known her face, he wouldn't have waited for her to come by again-"

"Sabrina, I'm afraid it's not like that..." Lila murmured, placing a hand on the poor maid's shoulder. "Animals...animals are intelligent at times, but they don't think the way you and I do. It's likely this was just...just a random attack," she had to force the words out past the lump in her throat. "It...it could have been anyone..."

"I'm afraid you're wrong about that, my lady."

The smooth, cold voice was strange to the small crowd. Tom stepped aside, gently leading his wife by the shoulders along with him, as everyone looked up in mild alarm.

Approaching them was a well-dressed gentleman, all in black and deep purple, using an elegant-looking staff as a walking stick. He wore a dark hood that completely covered his head, and shadowed his face so only the lower half of it could be seen. He raised his head and Lila was startled to see that, despite the darkness, his eyes still were clearly visible.

The man placed a gloved hand over his chest, sighing ruefully. "I have some regrets myself," he said. "I should have traveled faster... I heard rumors from travelers that there was a large, feline beast prowling around your village. My own village was plagued by the creature once before, and I had hoped to come to offer my aid before it could strike here...But I fear I am too late. Sir, madame, I'm _truly_ sorry," he added to Marinette's parents.

"P-Please...you couldn't have known-" the girl's father, Tom, said.

"Ah, but I did." The man gritted his teeth angrily and turned his head to the side in a swift, sharp movement. "As I said, my own village was attacked by it once. I should have known it would stop watching and start acting soon!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Sabrina whispered.

"It's only an animal, right?" Lila asked.

"I'm afraid not... It's a _monster!_ With human intellect and cunning, but animal strength and nature! No one knows where it truly comes from – but I've been following its trail since it struck my own village. I spoke to others in other villages, heard similar stories...

The beast makes its home in forests surrounding peaceful towns such as this. It spies and stalks like a human, always two steps ahead of any hunter who may try to stop it. And then..." He inhaled shakily, apparently unable to go on. "Well. Forgive my bluntness, but this poor young woman will only be the first victim if nothing is done soon. Within the week, _all_ of you would meet the same fate as her – feeding the creature's insatiable appetite for meat."

A loud, sharp gasp rippled through the group, barely covering up Marinette's mother's loud wail.

"Forgive me, I should have been gentler..." the man said, sighing.

"It will _not_ continue!" Lila shouted then, face hardening. "I shall find the creature and take it down _tonight_ before anyone else suffers from its paw! Marinette deserves justice."

"And I shall help you," the stranger said with a wide, toothy smile. "I told you I tracked the monster, I spoke to others of it? In learning of its methods, I _also_ learned how to kill it."

Lila frowned up at him. "You do? Why have you not-"

"I am an older man who is more suited for study than battle. But _you,_ lady huntress...you, with your experience, your weapons, your strength, your _anger,_ you can do what I cannot.

The creature is weakest after it strikes. It will return to its chosen dwelling, hide away to rest until it regains its strength. If you attack it before it can finish recuperating, you will _surely_ kill it.

I know where it dwells. I can lead you to him, huntress."

 _That part doesn't make sense,_ Lila thought to herself. _But,_ she realized, face darkening, _I have no time to question any of this. And he's been following its trail this long, he must know what he's talking about._ "All right," she said, holding her hand out. "Let me get my bow and arrows, and we shall be off. The creature will be dead by sunrise!" she vowed to all present.

As the others let out cries of praise and thanks to them both, the man reached out to shake Lila's hand. "A pleasure to work with you on this."

"What shall I call you?" Lila asked. "I must know who to share the credit with."

"Just call me 'Hawk Moth,' my girl."

* * *

 _Marinette stood amidst a swarm of white butterflies. She had no idea where she was, there were just too many of them. She tried to turn around, to get away, but they were everywhere, crowding her, nudging at her, landing in her hair... They were kinder than the black ones, she somehow knew, but they were too many and moving too fast and too much. They were **scared,** she sensed it. _

_White butterflies... Like the one in her dream of the garden!_

 _Like in **all** of her dreams – white or black, butterflies had appeared. They'd led her to Adrien, they'd tried to tell her something, and now-_

" _Who are you?" she cried out, desperate for her voice to be heard above the rustling of flapping wings. She spread her arms out, torn between showing she meant no harm and coaxing them closer to her. "I know you're sending me these dreams! What are you trying to tell me – what's **wrong?** How can I help? **"**_

" _ **Please!"** a voice screamed. The butterflies only flew faster, more frenzied. Even so, they cleared a small space around Marinette, as if expecting something..._

 _Before Marinette's eyes, a tiny purple creature appeared. He resembled a butterfly himself, in his own odd way – much like Tikki resembled a ladybug, or Plagg a cat. The poor creature's eyes were large and terrified, his body shaking as if he were wracked with pain. "Please," he gasped out painfully, his voice a bit softer now that he was in front of her. "Please, you must stop them – you **have** to go back!"_

" _Go back?" Marinette echoed, reaching for the little fairy. Seeing it shaking, in such great pain like this, she wanted to comfort it. She had to try to ease its pain..._

" _M-Marinette, you must go to the village! You have to tell them!"_

" _Tell them what?"_

" _You're alive! You're alive, he hasn't harmed you!"_

" _Who-"_

" _The villagers, your parents, they think you're – you have to set things right, you have to stop her!"_

" _Stop who- my par- why do they think I'm dead?" Marinette cried out, bringing the creature closer to her face. Too much was happening at once, she could barely process it all. "What's going **on?"**_

" _You have to stop her-" The fairy suddenly cried out, convulsing and collapsing onto her palms. "No – no, he's caught me, no-"_

" _Fairy-!"_

" _You have to hurry, you have to set things right!" the fairy screamed, then disappeared with a hiss of purple and black smoke._

 _Marinette cried out, grasping at the smoke as if it would keep the poor thing with her. The butterflies began flying even more desperately as black ones began to join them, billowing her hair and clothes, but there was something up ahead demanding her attention despite the chaos._

 _The boy from the garden, from her dream, from her drawing, stood in front of her. He was covering his head with one arm, desperately swatting at the black butterflies with the other. He seemed to be in far worse shape than Marinette had been – he looked utterly **terrified** to be trapped in the butterfly-storm. _

_Without thinking, Marinette hurried to him, her hand outstretched. She didn't even know this boy, but he seemed so afraid and her heart went out to him far more than it probably should have. There was something familiar about him, he felt familiar to her-_

 _He suddenly looked up, and his wide, terrified green eyes locked with her own blue ones. Marinette saw a multitude of emotions: despair, fear, alarm, anxiety, a flicker of hope... He reached for her hand, silently pleading for her to save him-_

 _-and suddenly he was Adrien._

 _The butterflies shot between them, obscuring him from view, keeping her from getting him out, and she heard the voice once more._

" _ **HURRY! GO!"**_

Marinette gasped, bolting upright in bed, her forehead beaded with sweat.

For the second time, her mind was a whirlwind of images and thoughts and feelings. But at the forefront of her mind was-

 _Adrien!_

She had to go back...the fairy had been so desperate, the dream-boy – _Adrien! -_ had been in trouble, she-

She had to go back!

Frantically, Marinette threw off her nightdress and pulled on her common red dress and apron. She didn't bother with pulling her hair back or even grabbing her bandanna, she had to go, she had to _go!_

"Marinette?!" Tikki and Plagg zipped through the door, eyes wide. "Marinette!" Plagg shouted. "We felt-"

"I know!" Marinette cried, even though she didn't, not truly. "I know, I- there's no time, guys, I'm sorry, I need to go!"

"We know," Tikki said in a rush. "We felt it – we felt it this time, Nooroo's- Adrien's-"

Marinette didn't spare any time to listen, though. Finally yanking her shoes on, she sped down the hall, calling a loud apology to the fairies over their cries of protest. The noise was surely waking up everyone else, but she didn't have the time to think or care about that, she had to get out now!

"Mari?!" Adrien's voice was the one that snapped her out of her panic, made her halt. "Mari, it's past midnight - what is it?!"

"The village – my home," she gasped out. "I just had a dream – I know it's stupid but _listen_ I think a fairy is – Tikki said his name, it has to be real – they think I'm dead, they think you've done something, I have to go and tell them I'm-!"

She stopped, breath catching in her throat.

Adrien's eyes. The boy's eyes.

The boy who transformed in her dream.

Alya's reaction to the picture.

His mother, father, his initial shame at his appearance, the hints that his parents had been human despite his own form-

 _He didn't originally look like this. Something had happened to him._

Adrien, ignorant of the clarity Marinette was finally reaching, touched her shoulder. "Then come with me," he said quickly. He seemed to understand that this was important enough to be done _now._ "I told you I know the forest, the wolves are afraid of me, I can lead you back!"

"Okay," Marinette agreed with a nod. "We have to hurry!"

And hurry they did. Adrien ran a few paces ahead of her, though he held her hand in his paw. He moved brambles and bushes aside, he sent birds and deer scattering as he and Marinette tore through the forest. Once or twice Marinette thought she heard the growl of a wolf, but just as quickly it was gone – likely frightened away by Adrien's presence.

"We'll get to your village," Adrien said after a while, between gasps. "I'll get you home, and-"

Icy clarity seized Marinette's heart, and she suddenly stopped, forcing him to as well.

"You can't come with me!" Marinette cried. She grabbed Adrien's sleeves in desperation. "Adrien – Adrien, if you come with me, they'll find you – they'll see you, they don't know you like I do! You'd be-" She couldn't bear to finish that sentence.

The way Adrien's eyes looked then told her he understood. "But," he said, sounding desperate himself, "the forest is still full of wild animals – what if the wolves attack you again?! I have to go with you the entire way, Mari!"

"Adrien, _they'll kill you!"_ Marinette had to make him understand. "I can't let them do that to you, _please,_ you have to go back to the mansion!"

There was a short, tension-filled moment that seemed to last an eternity. Adrien grit his sharp teeth, though not in anger, and looked around frantically, looking tense and torn.

But finally-

He looked back at Marinette, desperation and something else in his eyes. "Stick to the road," he said, low and quick. "Stick to the road, the wolves don't go on it, you'll be safer that way."

Marinette's heart soared in relief, despite the situation. "Thank you, Adrien."

Then, before she could lose her nerve, without even thinking of it, she stood up and kissed him on the cheek. Pulling away to look into his startled green eyes, she swore "I'll come back for you. In the morning, wait for me at the road, I'll come back - I _promise!"_

And then before he could call her back, at least to tell her what she'd made him feel just then, she turned and ran, disappearing through the growth.


	13. Kill the Beast

Adrien stayed where she'd left him for what felt like hours. Maybe it _was_ hours.

He could still feel her kiss on his cheek. He could still feel the conflicting sensations in his chest.

Warm happiness: she'd kissed him. She'd promised to come back once this was over.

Cold sadness: she wasn't here anymore.

Warmth: but she was coming back, he was just...

Cold dread, guilt: he wasn't sure if he should have agreed to let her go alone through the forest. It wasn't that he didn't think her capable, it was just...there was only so much a weaponless girl could do against wolves and other predators.

But maybe if he stayed right here, until he was _sure_ she'd gotten on the road (she must have by now, it had been...he didn't know how long but he couldn't hear or sense her presence anymore so it must have been a long time), then maybe his presence would frighten any dangers away.

She was aiming to protect him by going to the village alone. He would protect her in what way he could as well.

He never considered following her. He respected and trusted her too much.

As he waited, he found himself thinking back to earlier in the night. Or the night before, he realized, noticing that the sky was slowly lightening.

How he'd felt when she'd kissed his cheek, even if it were a simple farewell. Her tone of voice when she promised to come back to him. The fact she promised to come back at all, and _specifically_ said it would be to _him._ How she looked during the party, how she felt in his arms, how his chest felt strange at times, how happy he was with her...

...he would have to talk to her. When she returned.

Tomorrow morning, when he met her on the road.

Adrien finally turned and began the walk back to the mansion. He and Marinette hadn't gone too far – that was part of why he'd waited so long for her to get to the road. He'd get there shortly.

The mansion was in view below him, as he stood at the top of the incline. He could see lights in the windows, showing his friends were waiting for him. He couldn't help smile at that, despite everything.

 _Tik..._

Adrien froze, his ears perked up.

Everything was quiet...too much.

And then he smelled magic.

 _Thwack!_

* * *

The road was empty as she ran, her feet pounding against the well-trodden dirt. It seemed that even nature itself was aware that this wasn't any normal night – even the forest at her side was silent. The wind didn't blow to rustle the leaves, no animals howled...

She wasn't sure if there were animals. Maybe they knew Adrien was nearby and were staying away from him.

Adrien. Her heart twisted and leaped at the same time as she thought of him. The look on his face as she'd pulled back and ran for the road. The dream. The familiarity of his voice.

His voice. The first one she'd heard in her dreams, the first one calling for help. Whether it was what he truly wanted or whether it was the fairy using his voice, she didn't know just yet. But he'd sounded so pained in those first dreams, he'd been so scared and ashamed when they'd first met... And knowing now that he had used to be human, it all made sense.

She didn't know yet how she could help him. But she couldn't do that if something happened to him, all because her village believed her dead.

And she _had_ to do something – she would never forgive herself if something happened to him.

 _I'll come back,_ she thought, the village finally in sight. She ran even faster, ignoring how her legs felt like jelly. _I'll come back to him and the others, and I can make this right._

The village was quiet as she raced through it. _That_ was eerie, but she couldn't pay it any mind. The Bourgeois house loomed up ahead, light in all the windows. She ran faster to reach it, and practically collapsed on the doorstep.

Marinette pounded on the door, trying to catch her breath. Her hand hurt from the force of her knocking, her knuckles turning red, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting the truth out before it was too late.

She gasped and backed up a few paces when the lock clicked and the door slowly opened.

Chloé's face peered out from the open space, eyes narrowed angrily-

-and then her eyes bulged and she shrieked at the top of her lungs, slamming the door in Marinette's face.

"Chloé!" Marinette screamed, too distressed to be angry or irritated. "Chloé, open the door, please!"

"Stay away, spirit!" Chloé's voice was muffled slightly by the heavy door. "Leave me alone, I'm _sorry,_ okay?!"

"Chloé!" _Now_ Marinette was getting irritated. "Let me in!"

"I'm sorry I sent you out in the middle of the night I'm sorry I was so awful to you I'm sorry I was such a bad Lady just please rest in peace and leave me _aloooooone!"_ she half-sobbed. In the background, one could hear a series of rapid footfalls.

" _Chloé, open this door right now!"_ Marinette shouted, pounding on the door again.

"Marinette?!" The door swung open wide this time, and before Marinette could blink she was in a pair of warm, familiar arms. "Marinette!" Sabine wept into her hair. "My girl!"

"Maman!" Marinette gasped, closing her eyes and returning her mother's embrace. Her exhaustion seemed to melt away in her mother's arms, resting her face in the woman's shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of her lotion and the bread smell that never went away. "Maman..."

"Marinette?!" a chorus of voices cried from behind Sabine.

She felt another, larger and stronger, presence at her side, hugging her tightly. She heard Sabrina's sobs of relief, Chloé's stream of apologies and insistence Marinette must be a vengeful spirit come to take her away, and Mr Bourgeois trying to snap her out of it. She focused on her parents again and hugged them even tighter, tears springing to her eyes. Being with them, in their arms, after so long seemed to give her new energy, made her forget how tired she was.

It was almost enough to make her forget why she'd come in such a hurry.

Almost.

"Maman, Papa!" Marinette gasped, pulling back just so she was at arm's length from her mother. "I – I'm here! I'm here, I'm alive, I-"

"Did you escape somehow?" Sabrina called from where she stood fanning Chloé (the latter insisting that she felt faint). "Was the gentleman wrong?!"

"Escape- what- no! No, there was no need to escape!" Marinette shook her head frantically, backing up a few more paces. "No, I was never imprisoned to start with – I've been with a friend-"

"A friend?" Chloé's father frowned. "You told me you were seeing your sick father!"

"Tom's not sick!" Sabine said. "Never has been!"

"Listen, that's not _important_ now, okay?!" Marinette knew she should come clean and tell the truth, but that had to come _later._ When she wasn't so stressed and desperate. "I was with my friend this whole time, I heard what the village thinks has happened and it's not _true,_ okay? I've been fine-"

"Wait." Chloé suddenly stood straighter, frowning. "What _is_ true, then? _Is_ there a monster?"

"Well – not really, I mean-"

"Then what's Lila gone to find?" Sabrina murmured, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Where's the gentleman taken her?"

Marinette's blood ran cold. "What gentleman?"

"Lila found your basket left in the forest," Sabrina explained. "It was right next to a bunch of weird prints, like cat's. We called your parents here and just a bit ago, a man came by, saying he knew what'd killed you and how to-"

"He would never hurt me!" Marinette cried without thinking. The words just slipped out; she knew it was true, so she just said them.

"He would...what?" Sabrina's faced darkened with anxiety.

"So there _is_ a monster? An actual monster?" Chloé pressed on, then snorted. "Then even if he _didn't_ kill you, it should be killed itself! You probably just got lucky-"

" _He's not like that!"_ Marinette yelled, the blood rising to her face. " _He would never hurt anyone!_ Sabrina – Sabrina, you said a man came by! What happened?" Focus, she had to focus.

"He told Lila he knew how to kill the monster, and where it lived," the redhead offered, voice weak. Something seemed to be dawning upon her, horror and regret showing in her eyes. "He's taken her to his dwelling already, in the forest."

Her blood ran freezing.

"No..." she whispered, her legs suddenly feeling weak. She backed up even further, head turning frantically. "No, no, this can't happen – this can't..."

"Marinette-" Tom reached for her.

"Maman, Papa, everyone I'm so sorry but I have to go back!" Marinette shouted, turning around and bolting back the way she came.

She dimly heard everyone shouting her name behind her, a few of them running after her, but her new rush of adrenaline kept her ahead. Her feet throbbed with pain, her legs and lungs burned, but she couldn't stop, she couldn't spare a moment's rest. Lights were coming on in some of the windows, doors were opening, a few people cried out in shock, but she kept going.

She _had_ to.

* * *

" _Adrien!"_ he heard Tikki scream from the mansion below.

"Stay away!" he called back. _"Stay away from me!"_

It was fortunate for him that the woman in front of him interpreted that as a cry aimed at _her._ She swore loudly, readying another arrow and letting it fly, seemingly uncaring if her prey had seen her. Adrien fell to all fours and leaped aside, letting the arrow hit a tree behind him just like the other had.

He turned to try and run around her, get to the forest and lose her. He would not run to the mansion, he would not put the others in danger-

 _Thwack!_

" _AAAH!"_ he screamed as a sharp, horrible pain erupted in his shoulder, where the arrow had embedded.

"You think you can run from me?!" the orange-clad woman shouted, already reaching for another arrow. "I've felled beasts _three times_ your size and speed, monster!"

"Well done, Lady!" the new voice chilled Adrien to the bones. "Don't let it escape!"

Another arrow flew. Adrien managed to stumble out of the way, snapping the shaft of the arrow still in his shoulder. It did nothing for the pain – he had _never_ known this level of physical pain before.

" _ **Adrien!"**_ he could hear his friends screaming for him.

The huntress and sorcerer did not have the hearing he did. They heard nothing, least of all the huntress as she fired more arrows. He fell away from them, his breathing sharp and ragged already. He couldn't do that forever-

The bow went to her back. A knife was drawn from her belt, and she ran forward.

* * *

Hawk Moth watched with a cruel smile as the Agreste boy fell down the incline, stopping a short distance from the mansion gates. He would get back up from this fall, but soon he would fall _permanently._

The huntress's righteous fury was strong enough, and the beast's unfamiliar pain was too strong for him to resist for long. Agreste screamed again as the knife swung and left a superficial cut on his cheek; he grabbed the huntress's wrist and managed to push the knife-point back, but it would be futile in the end. It didn't matter how hard he fought.

Hawk Moth _always_ won in the end, so long as he was patient.

 _Everything_ was going his way.

* * *

Brambles and bushes snagged at her skirt and apron, making long tears as she hurried. Her feet threatened to get entangled in the brush, her legs threatened to give way any second. Her chest was tight, horribly tight and burning and she was so exhausted-

She had to find the mansion, she had to-

" _...the fairies made it so the only people who could ever find it would be people who lived there."_

" _Wait, how did I find it, then?"_

 _"Hm, then perhaps you were just lucky, My Lady."_

"Please," she begged any god or fairy who might be listening. "Please, _please_ let me be lucky!"

* * *

The huntress suddenly let herself go slack, forcing Adrien to shove her off him altogether.

He had only a few seconds of relief before she was charging for him again. Terror rising in his chest, he swung his arm out, catching her in the side and knocking her away. The knife flew out of her reach and into the forest.

"Please!" he shouted, trying to block out the screams of his friends, the fairies trying to keep everyone inside. "Please, listen to me, I – I'm not what you-"

"Don't bother!" the woman spat, grabbing her bow again. Adrien felt new terror at the realization she would have larger range on her side again. "I know what you are! You may speak and walk and dress as a man, but you're every bit an animal as any wolf or bear! Maybe even _worse!"_

"That's not tru—AAAAAH!" He doubled over, clutching his upper arm, where another arrow had hit. "Pl—ah... _please, listen...that man with you-"_

"I'm not listening to a word you say. You won't hurt _anyone_ ever again!"

"Again...?" Adrien breathed, eyes wide. Despite the terror and agony he was in, he couldn't help but wonder... "What do you-"

"Don't act like you don't know," the woman hissed, eyes burning with fury. Her teeth clenched as she reached for another arrow, slower now that she was sure he couldn't escape her again. "Oh, but of course you wouldn't know...she's nothing to you, is she?"

* * *

The beast had the _audacity_ to keep pressing his luck. Despite the blood trickling from his cheek, despite the arrows in his arm, he was still trying to fight back. He was still playing _innocent._ "She-" he began, green eyes wide.

"Marinette! The girl from my village! _She's dead –_ _ **eaten**_ _!_ I saw her...!" Lila couldn't finish that sentence. She hated what it implied.

After the basket, she'd searched the forest as best she could. All she could find were red hair ribbons that she wasn't even sure belonged to Marinette at all. There was nothing else. No torn clothes. No corpse.

He hadn't even left the poor girl's _bones._

Lila felt another surge of hot rage at the look on the beast's face – he dared to look shocked, he dared to look the way he did?! – and readied her arrow. She blinked away the tears from her eyes – she needed clear vision for a clear shot.

* * *

" _Marinette! The girl from my village! **She's dead –** **eaten** **!** I saw her...!"_

Adrien felt as if the world had ceased to exist at that very second. His blood turned to ice, his heart slowed to a near-stop, his brain shut down. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't...

He could only think. And feel.

Marinette had left in the forest...she'd sworn to come back, and he'd let her go on her own...

This woman had seen her, she...she was eaten by wolves after she'd left him.

She was gone. She was dead. It was his fault.

She was dead.

She was _dead._

She was...

His legs gave way from beneath him then, and he fell to the ground in a heap, not even able to hold his wounded arm anymore. His throat tightened, his eyes burned, he could _feel_ his heart breaking.

She was dead she was dead she was dead

"Marinette..." he rasped, blinking hard. He briefly saw her in his mind's eye; her smile, her familiar red clothes, her eyes, her brightness...

"Mari...I'm so sorry..." he half-sobbed, eyes closing.

He heard the arrow being drawn back-

-he heard Hawk Moth chuckle darkly-

 _Just do it, then...I don't care..._

" _LILA NO! DON'T SHOOT!"_

Marinette?!

* * *

Marinette burst out of the forest, just a few feet away from where the sorcerer was standing. She half-ran, half-fell down the incline in seconds, landing between Adrien and Lila.

She was a mess. Her eyes were wide, her skin was pale, her hair was tangled and windblown, her dress and apron had long tears and bits of broken brambles and leaves stuck to them. She had dirt on her hands, and she was breathing hard. Her legs gave way as soon as she stopped half a foot in front of Adrien, but still held her arms out to shield him.

But to him, she was the most beautiful sight in the world.

She was _alive._

"Marinette...?" Adrien whispered, scarcely daring to believe it.

"Marinette?!" Lila dropped her arrow, shaking her head and taking a step back. "No. No, it can't be – you were killed! This beast killed you!"

"No! N-No, Lila, listen to me-" Marinette gasped for breath. She sounded as if she'd run around the world twice over, she was so winded. "I'm not dead, I'm no illusion, I'm _real-_ I saw you in the village weeks ago, you brought down a bear with a single arrow! I'm real, and Adrien _never_ hurt me! He'd never hurt _anyone!"_

Adrien wasn't focusing on that. All he could do was look at Marinette. His heart swelled, a warm feeling flooding his chest, tears threatening to spring to his eyes once more. She was alive. She was alive, she'd kept her promise, she was _alive-_

She turned around, stricken expression softening as she looked at him. Despite the situation, her panic, she smiled at him...and then her eyes went to the wounds on his face and arm. "Adrien, you're hurt! Oh my God-"

"I don't care," he whispered, and he meant it. "I'm just glad you're all right, Mari..."

 _I love you._

Marinette's smile was between heavy breaths, and was an exasperated one at that, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Oh, Adrien..."

Lila dropped her bow, shaking her head. No. No, this made no sense, what was going _on?_ "That man...Hawk Moth, he said you were...But if you're alive, why would he say that unless...?"

A swarm of purple butterflies erupted between the women just then. They appeared for barely a second before they burned away into black fire, and the sorcerer was staring Marinette down. He was not outright glaring at her, but behind his closed lips his teeth were gritting so hard they might as well break, and his gloved hands hid white knuckles from how tightly he gripped his staff. "Lila!" he snapped, over his shoulder. "I told you-"

Lila drew another arrow – this time aimed at the sorcerer. "No!" she said harshly. "Hawk Moth, _what_ is the meaning of this?!"

" _Lila-"_

"The meaning of this is he's lied!" Marinette yelled, slowly regaining her breath. "I was never in any danger, and the man behind me...the man behind me would never hurt anybody! I bet he didn't even hurt _you!"_

Hawk Moth fixed his cold glare on Marinette. "What man?" he mocked. "I see no _man_ here."

" _Adrien!"_ Marinette shouted back, ignorant of the way Adrien's eyes widened and his breath caught. "I know you must have had something to do with this-"

" _Girl, you will be silent."_ Hawk Moth hissed, gripping the purple stone at his throat. Inside, the fairy fluttered frantically, screaming without a voice.

"I won't let you hurt Adrien anymore!" Marinette shouted again.

" _Girl-"_

"It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who did all this – you did something to Adrien, you bewitched the grounds so the others can't leave, you did something to that poor fairy, you've been doing all of this and you've lied to my village and my family and _everyone-"_

" _I said-"_

"You aren't going to do this anymore!" Marinette screamed at the top of what little voice she had.

" _THAT. IS. ENOUGH!"_ Hawk Moth's patience had finally reached its end, and he erupted.

It was in the blink of an eye. Lila saw dangerous movement and took aim at the sorcerer, but he merely swung his arm out at her. Purple and black fire turned her bow and arrows to ashes in her hands, a pulse of magic threw her back.

He turned back towards Marinette, his eyes blazing as he grabbed the end of his staff-

-and pulled out a sword.

The movements at his throat were a whirlwind now, panicked, terrified, desperate.

"Marinette!" Adrien screamed behind her.

" _You will not interfere anymore!"_ Hawk Moth snarled, raising the sword above his head, the point aimed at the girl's chest.

Marinette's eyes widened – she wouldn't be fast enough, her legs were still weak, she was exhausted from too much exertion and adrenaline, she'd never make it-

" _MARINETTE!"_

The sword came down-

-a loud, horrible scream filled the air.


	14. Love

The sword came down-

" _MARINETTE!"_

And in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

A horrible, ear-piercing scream filled the air.

A jeweled brooch shattered into pieces.

Magic fell away, allowing the small crowd at the gates to force their way through, two lights zooming at impossible speeds over their heads.

* * *

The sorcerer was surrounded by muffled shadows and shapes, dull colors, all sound as if it were underwater. Suddenly, inexplicably weak, he collapsed to his knees, one gloved hand landing inches away from the shattered fragments of his brooch.

His _brooch..._

 _The fairy-!_

"-is no longer your prisoner," a masculine voice snarled.

Hawk Moth looked up, briefly noting his surroundings – he still seemed to be at the gates, with the huntress and the beast and that brat of a girl – but everything was foggy and slow. It was like someone had set a circle of fogged glass around him, and then decided to slow the world down to a crawl. He looked back up and in front of himself.

Three fairies hovered before him, the black and red ones working together to support a tired, hurt purple one. While the latter seemed to be on the brink of unconsciousness, the former two were glaring at him with such intensity that, despite their tiny size, he wanted to run far away and never return.

"I _repeat,"_ said the black one in a cold voice. "Nooroo is _no longer your prisoner."_

The red one spoke next, blinking hard to get rid of the tears first. Her sadness did not undermine the severity in her voice. "You broke an important law, _mortal."_

* * *

 _"Adrien!"_ Marinette screamed, pushing herself off the ground and turning round, eyes wide in horror.

Adrien, now where she had been a few seconds ago, was lying in a heap on the grass. His green eyes were wide and glazed over in agony, his attempts at breathing producing nothing more than frantic, gurgling gasps. He tried to inhale- and instead began to cough desperately, flecks of blood spraying out. Beneath him was a growing pool of red, from the sword that had slid between his ribs on one side, and reemerged from the other.

 _"ADRIEN!"_

* * *

 _"You are never to directly harm one you have enchanted or cursed,_ " said the red fairy, blue eyes narrowed into slits. "As such, any power you once had is _gone._ Your spells have been undone."

"You've enslaved one of our own – one of our friends," the black one said then, eyes narrowing in cold fury, sounding nearly nothing like his usual self. "You've tried to seek others like us out to suffer the same. You hurt innocents. _You have mortally wounded our charge and friend."_

The implication was clear. It would have been obvious what would come next, even if Hawk Moth _hadn't_ known the consequences for breaking a law of magic: punishment.

"What will you do?" he asked, his voice as steady as ever despite the growing panic in his chest. "Kill me? Use my spell against Agreste on me?"

"Oh, no, don't worry...we're not _that_ cruel," the black fairy half-smirked, raising one arm just as the red one did.

"...but we don't feel particularly merciful either," she finished.

The conversation had felt like minutes to the three of them, but in reality was only in the blink of an eye.

And in another blink of an eye, a harmless white butterfly flitted about where the sorcerer had once knelt, blissfully ignorant of everything going on around it. Oblivious, it flew into the distance, thinking of finding some lantern to perch on.

* * *

Nino was the first to scream, hands going over his mouth in horror at the sight before him. All around him, his friends were having similar reactions. Rose tried to break away from the group, tears already streaming down her cheeks, before Ivan took her wrist and gently but firmly pulled her back.

"St-stay back, everyone, stay back, give him some air!" Alya cried, voice trembling. "R-Run inside, get something for bleeding, g-get the needles, g-get-!" She couldn't finish that sentence. " _Do_ something!" Alya suddenly cried to the fairies, who just hovered nearby with lost looks on their faces. "You're _magic_ , you can _do something!"_

"Don't you think we're _trying_?!" Plagg shouted back, voice thick. "We're _trying, Tikki and I are **trying** but nothing's **working** , something's keeping us from...!" _He trailed off, blinking hard a few times, and forcefully turned away from the others. Away from the stricken expressions on their faces.

Marinette had fallen to Adrien's side, eyes quickly flickering from the wound in his side to his face as she tore strips from her soiled apron. "Oh God – Adrien, no no _no...!"_

"M-Mari-"

"Don't talk! Oh my God – don't talk, don't talk, it'll be okay-!" she tried to say. He couldn't speak, he couldn't exert himself, he – he had to save his strength, he had to be _okay..._ With a shaking hand, she pressed the cloth to his wound-

-he jerked, mouth open in a hoarse, weak cry of pain.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..." Marinette gasped, withdrawing her hand from his side. The entire cloth of apron was already stained red... She spared only a glance at it before shaking her head and throwing it aside, ready to tear another piece. "I'm so sorry, Adrien- it'll be okay, I promise it'll be okay..." She reached out with her other hand to touch his face, hoping to at least offer him some comfort.

Adrien shifted slightly, weakly crying out again as he found even _that_ hurt. "M-Mari...?" he whispered hoarsely, trying to see through the darkness tinting his vision. Where was Marinette? He could hear her, he'd felt her, but _where_ -?

The red shape in front of him moved, taking one of his paws between her hands and squeezing. "I'm right here! I'm right here..."

"Are...are you hurt?" He might not have been fast enough, Hawk Moth might have still managed to do something, anything could have happened on her way here-

A disbelieving, joyless laugh sounded in front of him. "No. No, I'm _fine_!" Marinette cried, her breath hitching a bit. " _You're_ the one you should be worried about!"

Despite the pain, he managed to smile, relief briefly over-riding everything else. "Good...as long as you're safe...it's okay..." he whispered. It was easier to speak without gurgling, but his voice was still far too quiet and weak.

The darkness creeping into his vision grew worse, and he felt Marinette squeeze his paw again. "Adrien," he heard her say, voice tight, "Adrien, don't close your eyes-"

"Sorry...it has to be like...this..."

Maybe this would be better. The magic over his friends would have no reason to exist if he were dead. They could all go on with their lives. Marinette could too, she could move on, forget him, achieve the dreams she'd shared with him before...

"It doesn't!" Marinette cried, and moved his paw to her cheek – he felt dampness there, and his heart twisted horribly. She shouldn't be sad, he didn't want her sad. "It doesn't, okay – you're going to be okay, j-just stay with me."

"Please...please don't cry..." His voice was failing as he spoke, and he could no longer see Marinette. Or anything else, really... He couldn't even feel the pain anymore. He just felt overwhelmingly exhausted, strangely peaceful.

"Adrien-"

"Live...happily..."

" _Adrien!"_

"I love you, Marinette..."

He thought he heard her say something else, but her voice was too muffled and too distant, like everything else.

Then there was nothing.

* * *

Marinette's eyes widened in horror and denial as she watched Adrien's own eyes close completely. The paw in her hands went completely slack, she heard him softly exhale...

...and then nothing.

"No," she whispered hoarsely, slowly shaking her head.

No, no, no, he couldn't be gone-

" _No!"_ she cried, leaning over him and letting go with hand to shake him desperately. He felt cold to the touch, even with all his fur. "Adrien, wake up! _Wake up!"_

He didn't respond.

"You have to get up, Adrien – you have to wake up, you can't..." Her breath hitched as she slowly stopped shaking him, tears flowing faster down her cheeks. "You can't..." she whispered.

 _"You're my friend."_

 _"Sweet dreams this time."_

 _"You mean a lot to me."_

 _"I love you, Marinette..."_

"You can't...you can't be gone..." She collapsed weakly against his body, all her strength gone. Her arms went around his shoulders to hug him as best she could, squeezing him tight. She buried her face in his neck, her heart clenching, sobs coming louder when she found no pulse.

She knew there wouldn't be one, but...

She'd dared to hope, to think he'd be all right, that he'd get better and it'd be okay but-

"Please," she cried softly, hoping against all hope that he could still hear her. " _Please_ don't do this, please don't go. You can't do it like this – you can't tell me it's fine like this, you can't tell me you love me and then leave me!

"I love you, Adrien! You have to – you have to know that first, at least! _I love you!"_

Marinette felt her heart breaking all over again as she said those words, holding his still body even tighter. Unable to speak anymore, knowing nothing could bring him back, she simply cried.

Behind her, Tikki buried her face against the slowly-awakening Nooroo, trying to hide her tears from her friends. At Nooroo's other side, Plagg was staring straight ahead at Marinette and Adrien, his eyes glassy and wet, shoulders tense.

Rose buried her face in Juleka's chest, Juleka tried not to cry into Rose's hair. Mylene was weeping openly as Ivan held her by the shoulders. Alya reached up to hug Nino as the young man turned to hide his own tears in her shoulder.

Marinette had figured it out. She'd learned Adrien had once been human, she'd come back to save him, to try and help him. The spell was gone. Hawk Moth was gone. But now so was Adrien.

It wasn't right, it wasn't _fair._

In the background of it all, Lila stood alone, a lost and hopeless look on her face. The unfairness of the situation stung her as well. She wished to be able to do something, wished she'd still had her knife on her belt – maybe then she could have stopped the sorcerer before he'd plunged the sword down, before the beast – no, _Adrien_ – pushed Marinette out of the way.

But wishing wouldn't do any good.

Lila grit her teeth, eyes closing as she tried not to cry herself, and hugged herself tightly. "I'm sorry," she whispered to no one in particular. "I'm _so_ sorry..."

So absorbed in their own despair and mourning was everyone, that they didn't notice the hush that had fallen over the area when Marinette said _I love you._ Only one of them noticed the steadily-growing aura of magic.

Nooroo opened his eyes blearily, wings slowly flapping. There was magic, lots of it, he could feel it even in his weakened state. It was coming from- "Tikki..." he whispered. "Plagg... look."

They did. They gasped faintly, catching the attention of everyone but Marinette.

Marinette still held Adrien's body tightly, her eyes closed against her tears. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to leave him, even though she knew she'd have to. But she couldn't, how could she ever think to...

There was brightness on the other side of her eyelids, making her shut them tighter. At first, she thought it must be the sun, but the light was far too bright and growing too quickly to be the sunrise.

It wasn't until she felt the body beneath her shift and shrink that she opened her eyes, pulling back with a hoarse cry of alarm.

Adrien was _glowing._

Both Adrien and the ground beneath him were a bright, near-blinding white, the light on the ground spread out like a celestial pool. Marinette had to lift her hands away from him to shield her eyes, squinting against the light. The light that was Adrien was steadily growing smaller, shifting and changing shape, but she couldn't make out what was actually _happening_ to him, she couldn't see any of his features at all.

The light didn't fade or dim. Instead, the edges of the ground-light began to lift away, taking the form of tiny white butterflies that flew into the already pink and golden sky, disappearing among what few stars were left. Marinette lowered her hands, holding her breath as the light finally began to lift away from Adrien, unsure of what she'd see when it did-

She saw _him._

The young man from her dreams, from the garden and from the storm of butterflies, lay on the ground in front of her, a peaceful look on his face, as if he were asleep. His hair was slightly longer than it'd been in her dreams, just as disheveled, and his clothes were too loose on his thin frame. There was a sizable tear in the side of his cream-colored shirt, but when she looked past the hole and saw skin, there was no mark or scar. There wasn't even any blood, neither on him nor the ground – he looked for all the world as if he'd just fallen asleep in the grass.

She tentatively reached for him, then paused with a gasp when she heard him cough slightly.

And then his chest began to rise and fall.

He was breathing. He was alive...

"Adrien...?" she whispered, scarcely daring to believe it.

The young man groaned, shifted slightly. His eyes slowly opened, and Marinette's heart skipped a beat. Those were Adrien's eyes.

"M-Marinette...?" he whispered, brows knitted. He lifted a hand to reach for her-

-and then stopped, his eyes growing wide when he saw it.

Marinette heard him breathing hard as he hurriedly moved, scrambling to get up. He tried to stand, but only got about halfway before collapsing again, catching himself on his hands and knees. He stayed that way, breathing heavily, his eyes wide as he stared at his hands, sat back and pressed them to his chest, his stomach, his face... Looking ready to pass out, he began to laugh weakly, somewhat disbelievingly.

And then he looked at her again, his lips twitching into an anxious smile. "M-Marinette-?!"

Those were his eyes.

That was his _voice_...

Marinette nodded quickly, her eyes welling up with tears for the second time in mere minutes. "Adrien..."

 _He was alive._

 _"Adrien!_ " she cried, flinging herself at him to catch him in a hug.

He fell backwards and had to quickly catch himself, but he hugged her back just as intensely, burying his face in her shoulder as he laughed and cried at the same time. Marinette was having a similar reaction, tears falling from her eyes even as she laughed, only able to think one thing: he was alive, he was alive, he was _alive.._.

They pulled apart briefly, their position making it so Marinette had to look down at him. Her hands went to his face, fingers tangling in his hair, while his own arms were holding her steady. "You're alive," she gasped, unable to say anything else.

"You did, Mari...you did it, you saved me, _you did it!_ " he cried out, closing the gap between them and embracing her again.

" _ADRIEN!"_ came a collective cry, and all at once, the two of them were mobbed by people and fairies. People were falling to their knees, trying to pull the two of them up, everyone at once trying to embrace one, the other, or both. There was so much noise it was hard to make out what was being said, or who was saying what, who was laughing or crying or both.

Lila tentatively approached the group hug while still maintaining a respectable distance, unable to help smiling as she watched. She sensed a light at her side and glanced over to see three fairies – one still tired and weak but looking very happy – over her shoulder. The four of them made eye contact, the red fairy nodded gently at her: a sign of forgiveness, no ill will.

Amidst the mass celebration, Marinette and Adrien didn't let go of each other, nor take their eyes off the other for long. Neither seemed to know what to say, and even if they did it was doubtful it'd be heard.

Finally, Marinette just laughed again, drawing Adrien's face closer to her own, and pressed her lips to his. He didn't startle or tense up, but held her tighter and returned the kiss just as intensely.

Both of their lips were chapped, and dry, and there were still the remains of tears, but none of it mattered.

Everything was all right now.

* * *

 **Note:** Some of you may be wondering: if Hawk Moth broke a law and had all his magic come undone, why was Adrien still a beast?

Well, that's because of Tikki and Plagg, though to be fair they could have never seen this coming.

They added an addendum to the spell, saying that upon words of love, Adrien would be restored. Meaning, even if Hawk Moth's spells were undone, he would still need a declaration of love. Thusly, he also could not be healed by the two, as that would also go against their little addition.

Magic can be kinda complicated, and spells need to be looked over by lawyers before they're cast.


	15. Finale

It sometimes didn't feel real.

In the days that followed, sometimes he would expect to blink and wake up in his bed, discovering that this whole adventure had been one very, very long and vivid dream. Sometimes he expected the scene before him to fade into nothingness. After all, he had...he had been killed, hadn't he?

So there was no reason he shouldn't have thought this was just a dream.

Except...

Except the mansion was noisier and livelier than it'd been in years.

Except there was a small, tired little fairy on a pillow in the sunlight.

Except...

He sighed, frowning slightly at the man in the mirror. Except now instead of a great black cat-thing, he saw this.

That didn't feel real either...

"What are you doing?"

"Marinette!" he said, tearing his gaze away from the mirror he held in his hand. Despite the anxieties on his mind, he smiled automatically when he saw her. "I didn't hear you coming."

(Except Marinette was here, too. Marinette, who was _much_ too wonderful to have ever been a dream. And he highly doubted whatever his mind imagined of her could come close to reality.)

Marinette smiled from where she stood, leaning against the doorframe. "Your hearing is like a human's now," she said, in a tone that suggested she was reminding him. Again. As she'd had to (patiently, kindly) do for the past three days. "And I'm really light on my feet." Her smile faded, replaced by a concerned frown. "Now, what were you doing?" she repeated. "You've been in here for ten minutes; Maman's getting worried."

Oh, right, of course. Her parents had come the same day he'd woken up again- come back to life- the spell was broken. They'd been fetched by Lila herself, who in turn had been guided by Tikki so she could find her way to the mansion again.

He looked back at his reflection. No sense in trying to deny anything. "It..." he began, frowning as he tried to find the right words. "It sometimes doesn't feel real. I can't believe this is _me."_

He sensed rather than saw Marinette cross the room to sit beside him. He felt her hand on his shoulder, could see some of her hair reflected in the mirror.

She said nothing, though. An invitation for him to keep going. "I've been stuck as a monster for nearly seven years," he said softly. "For _years_ , every time I saw my reflection, it'd be a huge black cat looking back at me. Every time I saw my hands, I'd see paw-hand-things." She didn't laugh at his awkward phrasing, for that he was grateful. "If I turned around right, I'd see a tail; my clothes would pull at my fur and remind me it was there, I..." He trailed off, unable to finish that particular train of speech.

And then he looked at the mirror again. "It's weird," he admitted. "To see a human again. And I know it's me – it has to be, and I know this is sort of what I looked like as a kid, just more adult- but-" He struggled to find the words.

"It almost seems like a stranger," Marinette finished softly.

Adrien closed his mouth, exhaling through his nose and nodding. Yes. Yes, that was it.

It _was_ him, he knew it was. Some things were clearly the same – obviously, he still had the same green eyes as before. Those had barely changed when he'd been cursed, the sclerae had just turned green as well, was all. His hair hadn't changed from childhood either, surprisingly enough. It was the exact same shade of blond as he'd always had, even if it was messier and a bit longer than he remembered it ever being. But everything else...

His face was a little narrower, more angular. The face of an adult, instead of the round face of a child. He had some freckling and slightly darker skin than he remembered – maybe from all the time in the sun? But he'd had fur all that time, so how could it be? He was taller, of course, and had some muscle tone now instead of the little baby fat of a child.

But it did look like him, no matter how many changes there'd been. He remembered how he looked, and obviously he knew this was _him,_ but...

He lifted a hand and grabbed at one of his bangs. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like _me._ I pass my reflection and I think it's someone else walking beside me – I have to take a second to realize no, I'm at a mirror and this is _me_ and..." He made a noise between a groan and a sigh, lowering his hand again. "I thought I'd be used to it by now."

The touch on his shoulder moved to his hand. He looked up to see Marinette holding his hand gently, fingers twining. "It was seven years," she said. "And this has only been a few days. It'll take a while."

Adrien blinked "How'd you know it was _seven?"_

Marinette's head tilted towards a table against the wall. "He told me."

Both of them looked up then, to regard the purple fairy sleeping on a pillow.

While Adrien had had trouble recognizing himself, getting used to his non-animal senses, Nooroo had been unconscious most of the time. He'd woken up a little when the spell had finally lifted from Adrien as well as the others, but soon after he'd slipped back under. After that he only woke up for a few minutes at a time, then fell asleep again for several more hours.

"He'll be all right," Tikki had reassured them when it first happened, idly stroking his head. "He just needs to rest is all."

He clearly needed a _lot_ of rest, but if Tikki and Plagg weren't concerned about the amount of sleep he was getting, then it must have been all right.

"Do you think he'll be okay to travel?" Adrien asked.

"You're changing the subject." Marinette smiled gently despite her light reprimand. "But he'll be fine. He's got all of us looking after him, just like you do." Her smile widened and she stood up. "Now come on, let's go back to the others. Maman's probably dying to talk to you again – I mean, you're _only '_ that brave man who saved me from wolves and evil magic.'"

"I still can't believe your parents believed us so easily," Adrien muttered to himself, letting Marinette help him up.

Marinette frowned, looking a bit baffled herself. That _had_ been an odd sight; Lila and her parents coming out of the growth, with a little fairy in front of them...and that little fairy was happily chatting with her mother, who was acting for all the world like it was any other conversation. They didn't even seem curious about Tikki.

"I asked, and they just said they'd seen 'plenty of odd things in their day'...but they won't tell me what." Marinette held onto Adrien's arm to help him walk.

They'd have to get some crutches later. Human legs would take a lot longer than three days to adjust to walking on.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you don't need me to come along to the city?" Lila asked, frowning deeply. She stood at the side of one of the carriages parked outside the Bourgeois home, arms crossed. "I mean, just because the bear's gone doesn't mean the road is _perfectly_ safe. There's still the wolves out there."

"We'll be fine," Marinette assured her, setting the last of her belongings inside. "We've got some good bodyguards," she added, briefly winking at the three colorful lights on the seat.

Lila sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "Well, good luck out there. We'll miss you."

"Will you be okay out here?" Adrien asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lila smirked, a gleam in her eye. "I mean, my reputation is still spotless... _I_ can't very well help it if that hooded man turned out to be a notorious criminal and that 'monster' was just an abnormally-large bear stalking the lands of that poor, sickly noble. _I_ can't be blamed if the bear and criminal were washed downriver." At Marinette and Adrien's blank stares, she shrugged one shoulder. "I had to think of _something._ Not everyone would be as accepting as your parents. Besides, I told it _very_ convincingly," she added with another smirk.

It wouldn't be the only story told, either. Adrien was going to claim he'd been suffering a debilitating all this time, and that was why no one had seen or heard from him in years. That one wouldn't have to be pushed very much; the fact his parents had been ill and the fact he still needed help walking would back it up. And his friends didn't deny it either; Alya had already written to her family, claiming to have suffered a strain of it as well and did not want to put them in danger. Nobody _would_ deny it, and unanimously agreed that they'd claim they were simply helping their friends recover all this time, with the eventual help of a girl from the village over.

It was far more believable than the truth, anyway.

"Well, in any case," Lila said, holding her hand out, palm out. "Good luck in Paris. Write to us sometime, would you?"

"Yeah," Marinette smiled back, clasping Lila's hand. "And you can come down and see my dresses."

"Make a hunter's outfit and I'll do it."

"Done."

Adrien held back a laugh and scooted over, allowing Marinette to join him inside. "Is everyone ready to go now? We should get moving before dark."

"Just about!" stammered a new voice. Marinette looked out the window to see Sabrina standing at the next carriage, clad in traveling clothes and trying to pass her one (heavy) bag to Ivan.

Marinette couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. She could still hear Chloe's whining demands that her personal maid _couldn't_ leave, she _needed_ her.

Sabrina, who until that moment had been quiet and meek and as invisible as a personal maid ought to be, had shyly suggested she'd be crazy to turn down an opportunity to work for a _noble._

(She wouldn't be for long, Marinette thought, but that conversation could come later.)

"Just a moment, I need to-" Sabrina was saying, awkwardly trying to climb through the door.

"Here," said yet _another_ new voice. "Allow me."

Before Marinette and Adrien knew it, the fairies were next to their heads, hovering at the window and staring at the newcomer right along with them.

An old man, clearly foreign, clad in simple peasant tunic and hose, was offering Sabrina his hand, providing her support as she hoisted herself into the carriage. He smiled gently, mysteriously, as his gaze moved from the grateful Sabrina to Marinette and Adrien...and then to the three fairies.

"It's good to see you again, friends," he said with a nod. "Especially _you,_ Nooroo. You two will continue to look after them, yes?"

No one was sure who exactly he was speaking to; the pair of fairies or the pair of humans.

So all four of them nodded; Tikki and Plagg seriously, Marinette and Adrien mutely.

The man smiled, and walked towards their window. He lifted his hand – something compelled Adrien to reach out for it. When their hands met, the man passed a small box into his palm, curling his fingers around it.

"Your father hoped that by giving me back the stones, he could protect the family...I am sorry it turned out that way, but there was nothing I could actually _do_ without causing further danger _,_ " he said, a look of regret in his eyes. "But now I believe it is safe to return these. Look after those three, Adrien, Marinette."

Adrien's breath caught in his throat as he met the old man's eyes.

The man just smiled at him once more, and shuffled a few steps forward. Before anyone could call him back, he was simply gone, as if he'd faded out of thin air.

Adrien stared for a moment, then brought his hand inside the carriage and up to his face. Opening his fingers, he saw a hexagonal black box...with earrings and a ring inside.

"What...what was that about? What's going on?" Marinette asked.

Tikki just smiled. "Nothing to worry about. Just passing the stones to someone trustworthy is all."

"Basically," Plagg said. "It means you and your family line are stuck with us for a while. Not like we'd want to leave you anyway," he added.

"Wha-" Adrien began, but a still-tired Nooroo cut him off.

"There will be plenty of time for this later...years later, I think. It's not important as of now." He shook himself a bit. "And I think we're all ready to move and put this behind us, don't you?"

Move. Move ahead – to the city, away from the village and the forest they'd been trapped in. Put the years of enchantment and pain away, move forward...

...and make a better life.

Together.

"Yeah," Marinette and Adrien said at once. The carriage lurched forward, the others following it as the group rolled away. Marinette and Adrien's hands found each other, fingers twining.

 _Together._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** My _sincerest_ apologies for the long wait. But the simple, silly fact is: I'm bad with final chapters, and I was/am _really_ reluctant to have to close the book on this one.

I had a lot of fun writing this! Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories, favorite Disney Princess movie, and I'm just a giant sucker for BatB Aus. I really enjoyed writing this, and I'm glad you all enjoyed reading it.

To be purr-fectly honest, I'm not one hundred percent convinced this will be the only time I attempt such an AU... I might take a page from SamoaPhoenix's book in that case...

Thank you all, for reading, reviewing, and for those who made me fanart for this. You guys are awesome and part of why I write. ^^


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